ISTANBUL: A Turkish firefighting plane crashed in Croatia on Thursday, killing the pilot, Turkiye’s forestry minister said, two days after another deadly crash involving a Turkish military plane that killed 20.
The accident occurred as two Turkish firefighting planes were trying to return home but lost contact with air traffic control, with one managing to land at a Croatian airport while the other crashed, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli wrote on X.
“The wreckage of our firefighting aircraft... has been found near the Croatian town of Senj,” he wrote, referring to a town on the western coast, offering condolences to the family of “our pilot who was killed in this tragic accident.”
Earlier, in a post on X, the ministry said two AT802 firefighting planes left Turkiye on Wednesday morning for maintenance activities in Zagreb but bad weather forced them to stay overnight at Rijeka airport in the west.
They took off for Zagreb airport at 5.38 p.m. (1638 GMT) on Thursday but were forced back, it said.
“As they turned back, one of our aircraft landed at Rijeka airport, but radio contact with the other aircraft was lost at 6:25 pm,” it said, indicating search and rescue operations were under way.
The incident came just hours after Turkiye repatriated the bodies of 20 military personnel who were killed on Tuesday when a Turkish military cargo plane crashed in Georgia as it was returning from Azerbaijan.
Turkish investigators are looking into the cause, suspending all flights by its C-130 cargo planes as a precautionary measure.
Turkish firefighting plane crashes in Croatia, pilot killed: ministry
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Turkish firefighting plane crashes in Croatia, pilot killed: ministry
- Two Turkish firefighting planes were trying to return home but lost contact with air traffic control
Eight taken to hospital after gunfire at Sydney's Bondi beach
Australian police said on Sunday two people were in custody after reports of gunshots and injuries at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
"The police operation is ongoing and we continue to urge people to avoid the area," New South Wales police state in a post on X.
The Sydney Morning Herald said multiple people had been injured, while television networks Sky and ABC aired footage showing people lying on the ground.
Videos circulating on X appeared to show people on Bondi Beach scattering as multiple gunshots and police sirens can be heard. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
"We are aware of an active security situation in Bondi. We urge people in the vicinity to follow information from NSW Police," said a spokesperson for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Australian emergency workers said Sunday they had rushed eight people to hospitals after a shooting at Sydney's famed Bondi beach.
"We can just let you know that we have treated multiple people on the scene and at this stage taken eight people to different Sydney hospitals," a spokesperson for the New South Wales ambulance service told AFP.
No figures were immediately available for any fatalities.
