Seven people were killed in a helicopter crash in Qatar’s territorial waters, the country’s interior ministry said on Sunday, while earlier reports had put the toll at six. The Qatari and Turkish authorities confirmed the revised figure.
The defence ministry earlier said the helicopter had crashed after suffering a technical malfunction during “routine duty.”
According to Qatari and Turkish defence ministries, four of those killed were Qatari armed forces personnel, one was from the Qatar-Turkey joint forces, and two were technicians.
The Qatari government did not provide further details about the identities of those on board beyond this breakdown.
Preliminary information suggested that a technical malfunction could have led to the accident. There was no indication that the crash was the result of hostile action amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The accident came amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iran attacking US bases and other key installations across the kingdom several times since the Israeli-US airstrikes on February 28.
In fact, within a day of the Israeli-US airstrikes, Iran retaliated by launching 44 missiles and eight drones towards Qatar, according to news agency Reuters. An early-warning radar located in the north of Qatar was damaged in the Iranian attack on March 1, reported Reuters.
More recently, after Israel struck the South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar, Tehran retaliated by firing drones and missiles at gas facilities in Qatar as well as in other Gulf countries.
“Military cooperation and coordination activities between the Republic of Turkey and the State of Qatar continue uninterrupted within the framework of existing agreements and plans,” the Turkish defence ministry said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
With agency inputs
