Seven people were killed after a helicopter carrying high-level business executives crashed onto a highway after hitting a television tower Friday in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district, located on the European side of the metropolis, after hitting a television tower in dense fog.

Rescue teams, including fire squads, were dispatched to the accident site.

Istanbul Mayor Vasip Şahin confirmed that a total of seven people were on board the crashed aircraft, which belonged to the Turkish industrial Eczacıbaşı group, including two pilots and four foreign guests of Russian origin.

The crash took place at 11:21 a.m. local time when the Eczacıbaşı helicopter was heading from Istanbul to the group's Bozüyük facilities, located in the northwestern Turkish province of Bilecek, for a meeting scheduled at 12:00 p.m.

The impact moment of the crash was caught on the camera of a nearby service station; the footage shows a big explosion followed by the rise of a smoke cloud.

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