Ankara: Turkey's interior minister says all 12 people on board a police helicopter that crashed in southeastern Turkey are dead.

Suleyman Soylu said on Tuesday that search and rescue teams were sent to the area after the helicopter's signal was lost. He said the accident was caused by bad weather conditions.

The helicopter disappeared 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur, in Tunceli province, the regional governor's office said.

It had been carrying seven police officers, a judge, a soldier and three crew members.