All 13 Turkish soldiers on board a Cougar military helicopter were killed when it crashed after getting caught in a high-voltage power line in the Senoba district of Turkey’s southeastern Sirnak province, the army said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the army said the AS 532 Cougar had crashed shortly after taking off around 1855 GMT on Wednesday. It said emergency search and rescue teams were dispatched to the area and evaluations were underway at the crash site.

Broadcaster CNN Turk said Defence Minister Fikri Isik would travel to Sirnak, while presidential sources said President Tayyip Erdogan had been briefed on the crash following a National Security Council meeting earlier on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Catherine Evans)