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Three Turkish citizens, including a Turkish military officer serving at the Qatar-Türkiye Joint Forces Command in Doha, were killed in a Qatari military helicopter crash in Qatar's territorial waters on Sunday, according to a statement from Qatar's Defense Ministry.
Six of the seven people aboard were confirmed dead, with search operations ongoing for the remaining missing person.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry later announced that the rescuers found the body of a seventh person who had initially been missing.
The Defense Ministry said four Qatari forces and three Turkish nationals, including a military officer and two civilians, were on board the helicopter that crashed Saturday in Qatari territorial waters.
All seven people on board have now been accounted for.
Qatar's Defense Ministry named those confirmed killed as Captain Mubarak Salem Daway Al-Marri (Pilot), Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem Al-Khayarin, and Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed from the Qatar Armed Forces.
Search operations are continuing for Captain Saeed Nasser Samekh of the Qatar Armed Forces, the ministry said.
"The Ministry of Defense extends its sincere condolences to the families of the martyrs, praying to Allah Almighty to grant them His mercy," the statement said.
One Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) personnel and two Aselsan technicians were killed when a Qatari military helicopter conducting training activities within the Qatar-Türkiye Joint Forces Command crashed into the sea on the evening of March 21, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense (MoND) confirmed Sunday.
"The exact cause of the crash will be determined following an investigation by Qatari authorities," said the Turkish MoND.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense stated that military cooperation and coordination activities between Türkiye and Qatar are continuing uninterrupted within the framework of existing agreements and plans.
"A helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces, conducting training activities within the Qatar-Türkiye Joint Combined Forces Command, crashed into the sea on the evening of March 21 due to an initial assessment of a technical malfunction. Search and rescue operations were immediately launched, and the wreckage of the helicopter and the remains of our martyrs have been reached," the ministry said.
"In the accident, four Qatar Armed Forces personnel, one Turkish Armed Forces personnel, and two Aselsan technicians were martyred. The exact cause of the crash will be determined following an investigation by Qatari authorities," the statement added.
The ministry extended condolences to the families of all those killed, to the Turkish Armed Forces, the Qatar Armed Forces, Aselsan, the Turkish nation and the brotherly Qatari people.
The United Arab Emirates has expressed its solidarity and sincere condolences with the State of Qatar and the Republic of Türkiye over the death of seven people following the crash of a helicopter in Qatar’s territorial waters, as a result of a technical malfunction during a routine mission.
In a statement, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) conveyed its "sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the killed from the Qatari Armed Forces and the joint Qatari-Turkish forces, as well as to the government and people of Qatar and the government and people of Türkiye, over this tragic loss."
Qatar's Defense Ministry recently stated that the helicopter suffered a "technical malfunction" during a routine mission before crashing in the country's regional waters.
Qatar's Interior Ministry said specialized teams are continuing intensive efforts to locate the remaining missing person. No further details on the cause of the crash were provided, and there was no indication that the crash was the result of hostile action.
The incident occurred amid heightened regional tensions. Qatar has faced repeated Iranian drone and missile strikes since the start of U.S.-Israeli joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, with the country's Ras Laffan Industrial City being struck multiple times.
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