Among the eleven soldiers was Elazig 8th Army Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Osman Erbas, according to Ihlas News Agency, which said the crash occurred on the edge of Mount Nemrut.

The Cougar helicopter lost contact with the ground at 2:25 p.m. local time, 30 minutes after it took off. Drones sent to investigate discovered the crash site soon after, the ministry said in a statement.

Rescue efforts continued, the ministry added.

The German-French-made Cougar helicopters have been involved in three other accidents since they entered the Turkish army's inventory in 1996, resulting in the death of 28 soldiers before Thursday's latest accident, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

Altinbas University faculty member Eray Gucluer said in a televised debate that preliminary findings hinted at a technical failure as cause of the crash.

“The pilot figured out the failure and attempted to land,” Gucluer said on CNN Turk. “It was a better than normal landing under the circumstances, but it was bad for the people in the helicopter.”

In a statement, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the crash appeared to be the result of a sudden change in weather, state-run Anadolu agency reported on Friday.

"According to initial information and the testimony of witnesses, it is believed the accident occurred due to the adverse weather conditions,” he said.

An investigation to identify the exact cause of the crash was underway, he said.

Reporter's code: 50101