DOHA: Seven people, including Qatari military personnel and Turkish nationals, were killed after a military helicopter crashed in Qatar’s territorial waters during a routine mission, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
A statement by ministry said on X “upon conclusion of search and rescue operations for the crew and personnel of the helicopter assigned for transport…it has been confirmed that Captain (pilot) Saeed Nasser Smeikh, a member of Qatar Armed Forces, has been martyred”.
The ministry had confirmed the martyrdom of Captain (Pilot) Mubarak Salem Daway Al Marri, Sergeant Fahd Hadi Ghanem Al Khayarin, and Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed of the Qatar Armed Forces, as well as Major (Air Defense) Sinan Tastekin, a member of the Qatar-Turkiye Joint Forces, along with civilian collaborators Suleiman Cemra Kahraman and Ismail Anas Can, both Turkish nationals.
The Qatar Ministry of Interior reported that the crash occurred during a routine operation. Earlier, the Qatar Ministry of Defence stated that the helicopter suffered a technical malfunction, which led to the fatal accident.
“A Qatari helicopter had a technical malfunction during a routine duty, which led to its crash in the regional waters of the state,” Qatar’s defence ministry said in a statement posted to X.
Officials said investigations into the exact cause of the malfunction have begun, and safety protocols for helicopter operations are being reviewed. Qatar has not specified where the helicopter was flying.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz has expressed condolences, wishing Allah’s mercy upon the Turkish Armed Forces member and ASELSAN technicians who lost their lives, and extending sympathies to their families, the Turkish Armed Forces, ASELSAN, and the “friendly and fraternal people of Qatar.”
While Qatar has been targeted by several missile and drone strikes linked to the wider Middle East war since US‑Israeli strikes on Iran began, authorities have said there is no evidence that the helicopter crash, attributed to a technical malfunction, was connected to the ongoing conflict.
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