At least six people have been confirmed dead after a Qatari military helicopter crashed into the country’s territorial waters following what officials described as a “technical malfunction.”
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said on Sunday that seven people were on board the aircraft at the time of the incident, adding that “specialised operations continue to find another missing person.”
Earlier, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence disclosed in a post on X that the helicopter suffered a technical fault during a “routine duty,” which led to the crash. Authorities said there was no indication of hostile action, and no further details have yet been provided on the cause beyond the reported malfunction.
The Defence Ministry identified the deceased as pilot Captain Mubarak Salem Daway al-Marri, Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem al-Khayarin, and Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed, all of the Qatar Armed Forces. Others killed include Major Sinan Tastekin of the Qatar-Türkiye Joint Forces, as well as Turkish civilian collaborators Suleiman Cemra Kahraman and Ismail Anas Can.
The ministry added that search efforts remain ongoing for another pilot, Captain Saeed Nasser Samekh, who is still missing.
In a statement, the Defence Ministry extended “its sincere condolences” to the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence confirmed that one of its soldiers and two personnel from Turkish defence firm Aselsan were among those killed. The ministry said the helicopter crashed due to a technical issue during a training flight.
“The aircraft had crashed due to a technical issue during a training flight,” the Turkish ministry stated, adding that Qatari authorities would conduct further inspections to determine the exact cause of the crash.
The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions, with Qatar facing repeated attacks since the United States and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran on February 28. The Gulf nation has since intercepted hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles.
Earlier this week, Iranian strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s main natural gas hub, caused what officials described as “significant damage.”
Saad al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy’s Chief Executive Officer and Minister of State for Energy Affairs, told Reuters that the attacks have knocked out 17 percent of the country’s liquefied natural gas export capacity, resulting in an estimated $20 billion loss in annual revenue. He noted that two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities were damaged in what he described as unprecedented strikes.
Boluwatife Enome
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