Turkey has suffered a tragic loss abroad after one of its Forestry Department’s firefighting planes crashed in Croatia, resulting in the death of the pilot. The aircraft was reportedly involved in a mission related to maintenance before the accident.
Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, confirmed the tragic incident, stating that the wreckage of the missing Turkish Forestry Directorate aircraft had been located in the European country. He detailed that two Turkish firefighting planes were at Zagreb Airport in Croatia for scheduled maintenance and servicing.
The two aircraft departed for Turkey as planned the following day. However, they were forced to turn back to Croatia’s Rijeka Airport due to severe bad weather. Tragically, one of the two planes failed to return, losing communication at 6:25 PM local time.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed deep sorrow over the loss. This incident follows closely on the heels of another Turkish plane crash earlier this week that claimed 20 lives, underscoring the risks faced by aviation and public safety personnel.
