A civil helicopter belonging to a private company crashed in the Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul in the morning of March 10, killing five people on board, Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin has stated.

The Sikorsky S-76 model helicopter hit a TV tower in the district before crashing onto a nearby highway. The cause of the accident is unknown.

The helicopter that belonged to the Eczacıbaşı Group was carrying Eczacıbaşı Vitra Russia CEO Salim Özen and four Russian guests identified as Aleksandır Vanin, Igor Kochergin, Luidmina Churova and Elena Badraga along with Turkish pilots.

“One manager and four Russian guests were on board,” Bülent Eczacıbaşı, head of Eczacıbaşı Holding, told reporters at the scene.

The helicopter took off from Atatürk Airport at 11:16 a.m. and crashed five minutes later reported.

The helicopter was heading to the Bozüyük district of the northwestern province of Bilecik to bring the passengers to a facility belonging to the group there.