The bodies of four Turkish citizens, who were among the seven dead in a helicopter crash in northern Italy Thursday, were located by rescuers on Saturday.

The Turks on board worked for the country's leading industrial group Eczacıbaşı, which said they were taking part in a trade fair.

They were identified as Eczacıbaşı's director of factories, Altuğ Erbil, director of hygienic papers at its Yalova province factory, Arif Cez, director of investment projects, Ilker Uçak, and production director at its Manisa province factory, Serhat Kenar.

The company confirmed in a statement with "great pain and sadness" and relayed their condolences.

The two Lebanese were identified in Lebanon as Shadi Kreidi and Tarek Tayah, both executives at INDEVCO, an international manufacturing and industrial consultancy group.

Tayah’s wife, Hala, was killed two years ago in the massive explosion at Beirut's port, which took the lives of more than 215 people and injured thousands.

Their daughter, Tamara, who was 11 at the time, was one of the few victims who met French President Emmanuel Macron when he flew to Beirut following the blast, gifting him a pin shaped like the map of Lebanon made by her mother, a jeweler, and getting an emotional hug in return.

Tarek and Hala Tayeh had two other children besides Tamara.

"The rescuers have found dead the seven passengers from the helicopter, four of Turkish and two of Lebanese nationality, who were on a business trip to Italy. As well as the Italian pilot," the prefect's office in the city of Modena said in a statement.

Col. Alfonso Cipriano, who heads an air force rescue coordination unit that led the search since Thursday, said rescuers were tipped off to the crash site after a mountain runner reported seeing what he thought was a part of the mangled chopper during an excursion on Mount Cusna on Saturday morning.

Aircrews confirmed the site and ground crews initially located five bodies, and then the other two, Cipriano told The Associated Press.

Scorched site

The location was in a hard-to-reach valley and the chopper remains were hidden from air rescuers due to the lush tree cover, but some branches were broken and burned, he said.

The helicopter disappeared from radar screens Thursday morning as it flew over the province of Modena in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.

Electric storms had been reported in the area at the time, Cipriano said. The chopper was carrying seven people, including four Turkish citizens, two Lebanese and the Italian pilot, from Lucca to Treviso to visit a tissue paper production facility.

Italy's fire service also confirmed the news, saying: "After the discovery on Mount Cusna of the remains of the aircraft that disappeared on June 9, the unfortunately lifeless bodies of the seven people on board were found in the wreckage."

The alpine rescue service said: "No survivors have been found."

In a video posted on Twitter, an unnamed spokesman for the Italian air force said that after the wreckage was spotted from the air, rescue teams had to go in on foot.

"We went to the place and found everything burned," he said.

A spokesman for the alpine rescue service had warned Friday that the search would not be easy.

"If a helicopter falls amongst trees, in this season the branches close over it and it is complicated to see it from the sky," he told AFP.

The helicopter was an AW119 Koala manufactured by defense group Leonardo, a person close to the matter told Reuters.

The ANSA news agency reported it was owned by transport and aeronautic maintenance company Avio Helicopters, based in Thiene, in northern Italy.

Avio Helicopters was not immediately available for comment.