Seven people were killed after a helicopter carrying high-level business executives crashed onto a highway after hitting a television tower Friday in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district, located on the European side of the metropolis, after hitting a television tower in dense fog.

Rescue teams, including fire squads, were dispatched to the accident site.

Istanbul Mayor Vasip Şahin confirmed that a total of seven people were on board the crashed aircraft, which belonged to the Turkish industrial Eczacıbaşı group, including two pilots and four foreign guests of Russian origin.

The crash took place at 11:21 a.m. local time when the Eczacıbaşı helicopter was heading from Istanbul to the group's Bozüyük facilities, located in the northwestern Turkish province of Bilecek, for a meeting scheduled at 12:00 p.m.

The impact moment of the crash was caught on the camera of a nearby service station; the footage shows a big explosion followed by the rise of a smoke cloud.

Moment of impact in Istanbul helicopter crash caught on security camera of nearby service stationhttps://t.co/YILWHgYrOt pic.twitter.com/8hU6hcMnMO — DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) March 10, 2017

Eczacıbaşı Vitra Russia's CEO Salim Özen and four Russian guests were on board the helicopter when it crashed.

Bülent Eczacıbaşı, head of the Eczacıbaşı Holding, said the aircraft was carrying a Turkish executive, Russian guests and two pilots and added that the helicopter was fully-equipped and in good condition.

The ministry of transportation confirmed in a statement that the vehicle hit a television tower, as heavy fog lied over Istanbul, before crashing on the E-5 highway.

The four Russian passengers were later identified as Aleksandr Vanin, Igor Kochergin, Luidmila Chuprova and Elena Badragan.</s>ISTANBUL: A helicopter carrying high-level business executives crashed onto a Turkish highway on Friday after hitting a television tower in an outlying district of Istanbul, NTV television said.

The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter had taken off from Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport with seven people on board.

CNN Turk quoted local officials as saying the seven included three Turks, two of them pilots, and four foreigners. The DHA agency said four Russians were in the helicopter.

CNN Turk quoted a local official as saying first indications were that a total of five people had been killed.

No-one on the ground appeared to have been affected. The identity of the victims was not immediately clear.</s>ISTANBUL (AP) - A helicopter crashed on a highway in the outskirts of Istanbul on Friday, after apparently hitting a television tower in dense fog, reports said. At least five people were killed, the governor said.

The helicopter, belonging to the Eczacibasi group of companies, was carrying seven people on board - the company's four Russian guests, a Turkish official and two pilots.

Gov. Vasip Sahin said the helicopter crashed in Istanbul's Buyukcekmece district after taking off from Itsanbul's Ataturk Airport, adding that the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Eyewitness Fikret Karatekin, a taxi driver, told CNN-Turk television by telephone that the helicopter slammed into the tower before crashing on the highway.

"It hit the tower and crashed by spinning," he said, adding that the highway had been closed down.

The helicopter broke into piece that were scattered on the highway as well as a green area on the side of the road. Video footage from the site showed thick black smoke rising from the highway.</s>ISTANBUL, TURKEY: A helicopter carrying an executive of the Turkish Eczabicasi group and four Russians, including the firm’s Russian operations chief, crashed in Istanbul on Friday, killing five of the seven people on board, the company’s chairman said.



The helicopter crashed onto a highway shortly after take-off from Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport. Early media reports suggested it had hit a television tower but the district governor told reporters he was unable to confirm this.

Bulent Eczacibasi, chairman of the company with interests in pharmaceuticals and home products, did not specify who among the five passengers and two crew had been killed; nor did officials give any details of the two who survived.

“We have no information on the details, the cause of the crash will become evident after the evaluations,” Eczacibsi said in a statement.

The road where the helicopter crashed was largely deserted at the time and no-one on the ground was hurt. The highway was closed off to traffic following the crash.

Eczacibasi later released a statement in which it named the seven people on board the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. It said the helicopter carried one Turkish executive and one Russian administrator from the company, three Russians and two Turkish pilots.</s>A helicopter carrying high-level business executives crashed onto a Turkish highway on Friday, killing five people on board, after it hit a television tower in an outlying district of Istanbul, NTV television said.

An official of Kugu Havacilik, a company involved in issuing the license for the helicopter, told Reuters it belonged to the Eczacibasi pharmaceuticals and household products group. Eczacibasi was not immediately available for comment.

The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter had taken off from Istanbul's main Ataturk airport with seven people on board.

CNN Turk quoted local officials as saying the seven included three Turks, two of them pilots, and four foreigners. The DHA agency said four Russians were in the helicopter.

CNN Turk quoted a local official as saying first indications were that a total of five people had been killed. No-one on the ground appeared to have been affected.

The identity of the victims was not immediately clear.</s>ISTANBUL — The governor for Istanbul has confirmed that at least five people were killed in a helicopter crash on a highway in the outskirts of the city.

Vasip Sahin said the helicopter belonging to a private company crashed after taking off from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. He said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

The private Dogan news agency said there were seven people on board — four Russian nationals, a Turkish citizen and two pilots.</s>A helicopter crashed in the outskirts of Istanbul on Friday, reportedly killing at least five people.

The private Dogan news agency said the helicopter, with two pilots, four foreign nationals and a Turkish citizen on board, crashed on the side of a road in the Turkish city's Buyukcekmece district.

The district's mayor, Hasan Akgun, told private NTV television he saw five bodies at the site of the crash.

Pieces of the helicopter were scattered on the road as well as a green area on the side of the road.

Eyewitness Fikret Karatekin, a taxi driver, told CNN-Turk television by telephone the helicopter crashed into the tower before falling on the road.

"It hit the tower and crashed by spinning," he said, adding the road had been closed down.</s>ISTANBUL (AP) — A helicopter crashed on a highway on Istanbul's outskirts Friday after apparently hitting a television tower in dense fog, reports said. All seven people on board were killed, the city's mayor said.

The Sikorsky S-76 was carrying an executive of the Eczacibasi group of companies, four of his Russian guests and two pilots.

Gov. Vasip Sahin said that the helicopter crashed in Istanbul's Buyukcekmece district after taking off from Ataturk Airport, adding that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Authorities initially recovered five bodies from the crash site, but Mayor Kadir Topbas later said that all seven on board were killed.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the crash site in video shown on Turkish network DHA. Burning debris was scattered across a large stretch of the highway.

Video from a security camera of a gas station showed the helicopter plunging behind a hill, followed by a ball of fire rising to the sky that quickly turned into black smoke.

Video from a helicopter showed rows of rescue vehicles at the crash site and traffic piling up as vehicles were diverted off the highway to other roads.

The DHA news agency said the helicopter's rotor blade hit a vehicle, smashing its windscreen and causing its roof to sink in. Its driver escaped unhurt but in shock, the agency said.

Witness Fikret Karatekin, a taxi driver, told CNN-Turk television by telephone that the helicopter slammed into the tower before crashing on the highway.

"It hit the tower and crashed by spinning," he said.

Authorities, however, didn't rule out a technical fault as the cause of the crash.

The tower, which is no longer used for transmitting television signals but has a restaurant at the top, didn't appear to be damaged.

Eczacibasi is one of Turkey's top conglomerates that is involved in pharmaceuticals and building products. Bulent Eczacibasi, who heads the company, told reporters near the scene that the Russians on board the helicopter were clients who had been invited to visit a ceramics fair. They were being transported to visit the company's factory near the town of Bozuyuk, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Istanbul.

The Turkish national who was killed headed the company's operations in Russia, he said.</s>ISTANBUL (AP) — A helicopter crashed on a highway in the outskirts of Istanbul on Friday after apparently hitting a television tower in dense fog, reports said. At least five people were killed, the governor said.

The Sikorsky S-76, belonging to the Eczacibasi group of companies, was carrying seven people — the company’s four Russian guests, a Turkish official and two pilots.

Gov. Vasip Sahin said the helicopter crashed in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece district after taking off from Ataturk Airport, adding that the cause of the crash is under investigation. There was no immediate information on the fate of the two others reported to be on board.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the crash site in video shown on Turkish network DHA. Burning debris was scattered across a large stretch of the highway.

Video from a helicopter showed rows of rescue vehicles at the crash site and traffic piling up as vehicles were diverted off the highway to other roads.

Eyewitness Fikret Karatekin, a taxi driver, told CNN-Turk television by telephone that the helicopter slammed into the tower before crashing on the highway.

“It hit the tower and crashed by spinning,” he said.

Authorities however, did not rule out a technical fault as the cause of the crash.

The tower, which is no longer used for transmitting television signals but has a restaurant at the top, did not appear to be damaged.

Bulent Eczacibasi, who heads the company — one of Turkey’s top conglomerates that is involved in pharmaceuticals and building products — told reporters near the scene that the Russians on board the helicopter were clients who had been invited to visit a ceramics produce fair. They were being transported to visit the company’s factory near the town of Bozuyuk, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Istanbul.

The Turkish national headed the company’s operations in Russia, he said.</s>At least five people have been killed after a helicopter reportedly crashed into a television tower on the outskirts of Istanbul, according to the city's governor.

Vasip Sahin said the helicopter, which belonged to a private company, crashed after taking off from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport and came down on a highway on the edge of the city.

Mr Sahin said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

The private Dogan news agency said there were seven people on board -four Russian nationals, a Turkish citizen and two pilots.
A helicopter crashes in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district, killing at least seven people.