Six dead as Qatar military helicopter crashes after ‘technical malfunction’

Four members of the Qatari Armed Forces and three Turkish nationals die after chopper crashes due to technical snag.All seven people on board a Qatari military ⁠helicopter, including three Turkish nationals, have been killed in a crash in the Gulf state’s territorial waters, authorities ⁠said.The Qatari and Turkish defence ministries on Sunday said the helicopter crashed after suffering a ‌technical malfunction, which the Qatari ministry said happened during a “routine duty”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4QatarEnergy CEO says warned US, industry officials against attack on energylist 2 of 4Iran war: What’s happening on day 23 of US-Israel attacks?list 3 of 4Who are the Gulf’s military allies, and how are they helping in Iran war?list 4 of 4What are the risks of turning energy sites into battlefields?end of listFour of those killed were Qatari Armed Forces personnel, one was from the Qatar-Turkey ⁠joint forces and ⁠two were technicians, the Turkish and Qatari defence ministries said.According to Qatar’s Defence Ministry, the deceased were identified as pilot Captain Mubarak Salem Daway al-Marri, Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem al-Khayarin, Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed and Captain Saeed Nasser Samekh (all from Qatar Armed Forces); Major Sinan Tastekin (Qatar-Turkiye Joint Forces), and Turkish civilian collaborators Suleiman Cemra Kahraman and Ismail Anas Can.The ministry extended “its sincere condolences” to the families of the victims.The Turkish Ministry of National Defence ‌also said in a statement that one of its ⁠soldiers and two personnel from Turkish defence ⁠firm Aselsan were killed ⁠in the helicopter crash, adding the aircraft had crashed due to a technical issue during ⁠a training flight.The statement added that Qatari authorities would carry out inspections ‌to determine the exact cause of ‌the ‌crash.No immediate information was available on the cause beyond the technical malfunction, and there was no indication that the crash was the result of hostile action.Repeated attacksThe incident occurred amid heightened regional tensions.