"Our plane crashed into the mountain, help us, we are dying" He survived on the summit of Kaçkar!
The M20J type single-engine aircraft, which took off from the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir to go to Rize-Artvin Airport, crashed in the Kaçkar Mountains on the Rize-Erzurum border at around 18:00 yesterday.
According to the news in DHA, after the emergency call of passenger Hicran Kaya, whom Pilot Mehmet Demirci took on his plane from Sivrihisar to Rize, teams started a search and rescue operation in the region. A military helicopter joined the search efforts, while AFAD teams from surrounding provinces also provided support.
Passenger Hicran Kaya, who was reached by the DHA reporter on the phone after making an emergency call, said, “Our plane crashed into the mountain. I don’t know where we are. Help, we are dying,” adding that their lives were in danger.
As part of the work carried out throughout the night from Rize, Erzurum and Bayburt, JAK teams reached the wreckage of the plane at around 06:30, reaching the roadless area in the Kaçkar Mountains on the Rize-Erzurum border.
During the inspections of the teams, it was determined that the pilot Mehmet Demirci, who went on a world tour, had died. Passenger Hicran Kaya was found injured. The teams started working to remove Demirci's lifeless body from where it was found.
While the rescue operation was ongoing in the region, the moments when the teams reached the plane wreckage were captured on the JAK team camera. The footage recorded by the JAK teams, who established visual coordination with Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş and Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Colonel Ali Güngör in the crisis center established in the region, showed foggy weather in the region, Hicran Kaya, who was waiting to be rescued in the plane covered in blood, waving, and Mehmet Demirci motionless.
Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş said that Hicran Kaya, who was found injured in the plane whose wreckage was found, was in good health, while the pilot had lost his life. Governor Baydaş said, "We are continuing our search for a civilian plane that took off from Eskişehir Sivrihisar and was on its way to Rize-Artvin Airport after receiving a report to the 112 hotline at around 18:00 yesterday evening. As of 06:24, our Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) team and İkizdere Search and Rescue (İDAK) team have reached the plane.
They reached somewhere on the summit line, that is, on the summit of the Kaçkar Mountains. There is very heavy rain. In fact, there was snowfall on the summit line tonight. Our friends reached the team as of 06.24, they reached the plane. They are in the area where the wreckage is. The female passenger on the plane who called the 112 line is alive, our friends are taking her to safety. We saw the lady while we were talking to our commander via video.
He seems to be in good health. They took precautions for him. They checked the pilot's vital status. The information our friends have given so far is that unfortunately the pilot has lost his life. Now our friends will work to bring both the injured passenger and the entire team there to a reachable point. It is foggy weather, it does not seem like the helicopter will be able to land. Our friends will try to carry him to a point where he can be picked up by helicopter," he said.
Governor Baydaş, who congratulated the teams by wishing them a speedy recovery, said, "I wish them a speedy recovery again. All Erzurum, Bayburt and Rize teams have been on the field since the first moment the incident was heard. We are here too. God willing, we will provide further information about the developments. I also congratulate the JAK team and the İDAK team. Our friends tried to get there by walking for hours despite all the adverse weather conditions."
On the other hand, it was learned that Pilot Mehmet Demirci has been actively flying since 2008. It was stated that Demirci, who set off on a single-engine plane to make a solo world tour, was planning to leave his passenger Hicran Kaya in Rize and continue his journey. Pilot Demirci had made statements to reporters by giving images before setting off on his world tour.
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