4 soldiers martyred in Malatya helicopter crash laid to rest in their hometowns

Four soldiers who were martyred in an S-70 type helicopter that crashed for a still-undetermined reason on 12 November in the Samanköy area of Malatya's Yeşilyurt district were sent to their hometowns after a ceremony at Mürted Air Base Command and laid to rest. At the ceremonies, the martyrs' biographies were read, a moment of silence was observed and prayers were recited.

The ceremony held at Mürted Air Base Command in Ankara was attended by the martyrs' families and relatives as well as Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu and the force commanders. The ceremony ended with the bodies being seen off onto aircraft that would carry them to their hometowns for burial.

A funeral prayer was performed for Army Pilot Major Orhun Pınar at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque following the noon prayer. The funeral was attended by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel, Air Forces Commander General Rafet Dalkıran, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, BBP Chairman Mustafa Destici, Director General of Police Ali Fidan and Ankara Governor Yakup Canpolat. Pınar's body will be buried at the Çimşit Cemetery in Sincan.

The body of Non-Commissioned Officer Senior Sergeant Serkan Önder was sent to Kayseri aboard a Turkish Air Force aircraft and brought to his family home in the Kocasinan district. At the ceremony held at the Kalemkırdı Mosque at the time of the afternoon prayer, the martyr's wife Öznur Önder took her 9-month-old baby in her arms and embraced the coffin. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu and Deputy Minister of National Defense Salih Ayhan offered their condolences to the family. Önder was laid to rest at the Kayseri Garrison Martyrs' Cemetery; Governor Gökmen Çiçek and Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç also attended the ceremony.

The body of Army Pilot Major Erdem Çimen, wrapped in the Turkish flag, was brought to the 15 July Martyrs Mosque in the Gaziemir district. At the ceremony held at the time of the afternoon prayer, the martyr's wife Özge, his son Demir (11), his mother Aygül and his father, retired colonel Turan Çimen, embraced the body and wept. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı, İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban, Aegean Army and Garrison Commander Lieutenant General Zorlu Topaloğlu, İzmir Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Major General Halil Şen and İzmir Provincial Police Chief Ahmet Arıbaş. Çimen was buried at the Kadifekale Air Martyrs' Cemetery.

The body of Non-Commissioned Officer Senior First Sergeant Hüseyin Zehir was taken to the Payas district. After the family's blessing was sought in front of the family home in the Karbeyaz neighborhood, a ceremony was held at the Payas Martyrs Mosque and Zehir was laid to rest at the Payas Martyrs' Cemetery. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hacı Ali Özel, Deputy Governor Alp Eren Yılmaz, AK Party Hatay MP Kemal Karahan, CHP Hatay MP Mehmet Güzelmansur and Garrison Commander Brigadier General Orhan Demirel.