Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reached out to Qatar’s ruling emir following the deaths of seven military personnel whose helicopter went down in Qatari territorial waters after suffering a technical malfunction.
The UAE president directed his condolences to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, expressing sympathy over the loss of the crew, which included members of the Qatari Armed Forces and the joint Qatari-Turkish forces.
The crash occurred in the early hours of Sunday, March 22, during what Qatar’s Defence Ministry described as a routine mission. Both Doha and Ankara confirmed the cause as a technical failure, though an official investigation is still underway to establish the exact circumstances.
Among the dead were four Qatari servicemen — Captain Mubarak Salem Daway al-Marri, Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem al-Khayarin, Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed, and Captain Saeed Nasser Samekh. The Turkish side lost Major Sinan Tastekin of the Qatar-Turkey Joint Forces, along with two employees of Turkish defence firm Aselsan, identified as Suleiman Cemra Kahraman and Ismail Anas Can.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim personally attended funeral prayers and burial rites held at Imam Muhammad Ibn Abd Al Wahhab Mosque in Doha on Monday. The Turkish ambassador to Qatar and senior officers from both countries’ militaries were also present.
Ankara said the crash would not affect bilateral defence ties, stating that military cooperation between Turkey and Qatar would continue under existing agreements.
The UAE’s expression of solidarity comes as Gulf states navigate an increasingly volatile regional environment. Qatar has been actively intercepting Iranian drone and missile attacks since late February, and Iranian strikes on the Ras Laffan industrial complex earlier this month caused significant damage to the country’s liquefied natural gas infrastructure.
