A firefighting plane from Russia crashed in a mountainous area in southern Turkey, killing the eight crew members and emergency workers aboard, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

The Russian ministry said five Russian and three Turkish citizens were on the amphibious Beriev BE-200, which crashed while trying to land in Turkey's Adana province. A team to investigate the accident was dispatched to the Kahramanmaras area, Turkish state media said. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted he was greatly saddened by the deaths and said their "heroic sacrifices" would not be forgotten. Turkey has fought some 300 wildfires in the last 16 days that have killed eight other people, consumed forests and homes and sent thousands fleeing.