5 killed after helicopter crashes in Turkey

A helicopter carrying high-level business executives crashed onto a Turkish highway on Friday. Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin told state-run news agency Anadolu that five people were killed.

Firefighters at the site of the crash on Friday.(AP)

The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter had taken off from Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport with seven people on board. According to NTV television channel, the helicopter crashed after it hit a television tower in an outlying district of Istanbul.

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.

An official of Kugu Havacilik, a company involved in issuing the licence for the helicopter, told Reuters it belonged to Turkish conglomerate Eczacibasi.

Eczacibasi was not immediately available for comment.

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.