- Russian firefighting plane crashed in Turkey today.
- The plane apparently was unable to gain altitude after dumping water onto wildfire.
- So far, no information on potential cause of crash has emerged.
Russian Beriev Be-200 firefighting plane crashed into the mountain in Turkey’s southern region of Marash on Saturday.
Everyone on board amphibious Be-200 aircraft– the Russian pilots and Turkish officials – has been killed.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, there were five Russian servicemen and three Turkish officials on board the plane.
The plane crashed shortly after releasing water on one of raging Turkish wildfires. The aircraft was apparently unable to gain sufficient altitude after dumping its load, and crashed into the mountain.
So far, no information on the potential cause of the crash has emerged. The Russian military has already dispatched a team of investigators to Turkey to examine the site of the crash.
A handful of firefighting aircraft have been sent to Turkey by Russia to assist the nation in its struggle with wildfires, which have plagued it in recent weeks. According to local media reports, the crashed Be-200 was attached to the Adana firefighting department.
