Ankara: The Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, has announced the tragic crash of a firefighting plane, resulting in the death of its pilot. The incident occurred as the plane was returning from Croatia to Turkey.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Minister Yumakli shared details on the Turkish social media platform “Ins Social” on Thursday evening. The firefighting plane, operated by the General Directorate of Forestry, lost contact during its return flight and was later found crashed near the city of Senj in western Croatia.

The minister detailed that two AT802 aircraft had been in Croatia for scheduled maintenance. Due to poor weather conditions, the planes spent the night at Rijeka Airport. They initially took off for Zagreb Airport but had to return to Rijeka due to the same adverse weather.

Yumakli further explained that while one of the aircraft managed to land safely back at the airport, the other lost contact on Thursday evening. Search and rescue operations, conducted in collaboration with Croatian teams, eventually located the wreckage and the pilot’s body near Senj.