Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (centre) and family members of coup victims pray at the “Martyrs Monument” outside his presidential palace, in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday. AP

A small plane belonging to Turkey’s police force has crashed into a mountain in eastern Turkey, killing seven officers on board, Turkey’s interior minister said Thursday.

The plane was returning from a surveillance and reconnaissance mission late Wednesday, when it crashed into the Artos mountains in the eastern province of Van, near the border with Iran, Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

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The minister said the plane disappeared from the radar on its way back to an airport following a surveillance mission over Van and the neighboring province of Hakkari, which lies farther south and borders both Iran and Iraq.

The plane’s wreckage was found at around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT), he said.

All on board, including the two pilots, were members of the national police.

The cause of the of crash was under investigation, Soylu said.