Four people have died after an air ambulance helicopter crashed into a hospital just moments after it took off.
The emergency helicopter took off in heavy fog from a hospital in southwest Turkey and then went plunging down the side of the building.
The helicopter took off in conditions with poor visibility from the roof of the hospital in the city of Mugla.
The helicopter was set to fly to the city of Antalya, as seen in images broadcast by the NTV television channel.
The video shows the helicopter beginning to take off from the roof of the Mugla Training and Research Hospital.
It is seen slowly struggling to make it into the air, shaking as it makes a turn in the air.
The chopper can then be seen drifting in the fog several minutes after take-off, before crashing into an empty field next to the hospital it hit, Turkish media reported.
The helicopter is said to have collided with the building, before it rapidly fell to the ground, smashing into pieces on impact.
Video footage shows the air ambulance taking off in heavy fog from the roof of the hospital
The helicopter manages to make it into the air after a slow take off
The helicopter is then seen disappearing into the fog as it moves away from the roof of the building
The scene of the helicopter crash at the ground floor of the hospital in Mugla, southwest Turkey
Harrowing pictures of the hospital show several of the panels ripped from the building.
The images show the wreckage of the helicopter surrounded by debris from the hospital wall.
All four crew members on board – made up of two pilots, a doctor and another medical worker – died in the crash.
An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched, with authorities working to uncover the circumstances that led to the crash.
The provincial governor blamed the crash on thick fog.
‘The helicopter fell to the ground after having struck the fourth storey of a hospital during take-off,’ killing two pilots, a doctor and an employee on board the vehicle, Mugla provincial governor Idris Akbiyik said.
‘There was intense fog,’ Akbiyik said, adding that the authorities were investigating the accident’s cause.
The damage to the side of the Mugla Training and Research Hospital in Turkey after the crash
An aerial view of the scene where the helicopter crash landed and the hospital building
Forensic experts were seen examining the wreckage of the air ambulance helicopter after the crash
The accident comes just under two weeks after six soldiers were killed when two helicopters collided during an army training exercise in Turkey’s southwestern Isparta province.
At the time the defence ministry did not specify what caused that crash.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: ‘The news that four of our brothers lost their lives as a result of the crash of an ambulance helicopter affiliated with our Ministry of Health in Muğla broke our hearts.
‘I pray to God to have mercy on our deceased personnel and offer my condolences to their families, colleagues and our entire healthcare community.’
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