The Russian-made K-32 firefighting helicopter had been helping extinguish forest fires in the province of Antalia, a Turkish news agency reported. Unofficial reports also suggested there were two Turkish citizens on board the helicopter at the time of the crash, the causes of which are under investigation.
"We have information that there were Russian citizens among the helicopter's crew, but this still needs to be confirmed," Consul General Sergei Alifanov said.
He said all five crewmembers had been rescued and taken to a local hospital for an examination and treatment.
Turkish news agency DHA said the aircraft had been collecting water from a lake in the southwestern province.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said earlier in the day that the helicopter was not a ministry aircraft. Irina Andrianova said ministry helicopters had helped put out fires in Greece, "but not this year."
With its compact shape and a lift capacity of 11,000 pounds, Russian-made Kamov helicopters are widely used around the world in search-and-rescue, forest-logging and firefighting operations.
