The Russian-made K-32 firefighting helicopter was helping extinguish forest fires in the province of Antalya on the Mediterranean when it crashed. Turkish media said that the crew included three Russians.
But Sergei Alifanov in Antalia said this was not the case: "The helicopter was piloted by three Bulgarian citizens and had two officials from the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture on board."
He said the Turks had rented the helicopter from the Bulgarian Agriculture Ministry.
"The cause of the crash is being investigated," the consul said. "Preliminary reports suggest it was caused by technical malfunction."
Alifanov said earlier on Monday that all five crewmembers had been rescued and taken to a local hospital for an examination and treatment.
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.
