Azerbaijan extends condolences to Türkiye, Qatar after helicopter crash

Azerbaijan’s Defence Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, extended condolences to Turkish Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani following a deadly helicopter crash.

“I was deeply saddened by the news that a helicopter belonging to the Qatari Armed Forces, which was carrying out a training flight within the Qatar–Türkiye Joint Combined Forces Command, crashed into the sea due to a technical malfunction, resulting in the death of one serviceman of the Turkish Armed Forces, two technical specialists of the ASELSAN company, and four servicemen of the Qatari Armed Forces.

I pray to Almighty Allah for the repose of the souls of the deceased and extend my deepest condolences to their families. May Allah grant eternal peace to the deceased,” Hasanov said.

A Qatari military helicopter crashed into Qatar’s territorial waters on March 22, during a routine training/operational flight after suffering a technical malfunction, killing all seven people on board.

The victims included four Qatari Armed Forces personnel, one Turkish joint forces serviceman, and two technical specialists affiliated with Türkiye’s ASELSAN defence company.

The crash prompted immediate search‑and‑recovery operations, and both countries’ defence ministries began investigations into the exact technical cause of the malfunction.

By Jeyhun Aghazada