A young Turkish military police officer has died after he put a gun to his own head as a joke during a video call with his fiancee – but the weapon discharged.

Dogukan Tok, a specialist sergeant with the Gendarmerie General Command in the small village of Meydan in southern Turkey, died following the prank-gone-wrong.

He was just 23 years old.

The tragic events took place in the neighbourhood of General Sukru Kanadli, in the district of Samandag, in the southernmost Turkish province of Hatay, on Saturday evening, 12th March.

He was reportedly at home and on a video call with his fiancee, identified only as E. U., when the incident occurred.

According to reports, the young man put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger as a prank, presumably thinking the gun was unloaded.

However, the firearm was, in fact, loaded, and he was seriously injured when the weapon discharged.

Paramedics were dispatched to the scene and took the young man to hospital. Medics tried to save him, but he succumbed to his injuries, despite their best efforts.

His body was then taken to the morgue for an autopsy.

Following the autopsy, he was buried in his hometown in the district of Andirin, in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, on Sunday, 13th March.

In attendance at his funeral were sergeants and commanders from the Gendarmerie, as well as the mayor of Kahramanmaras, Ahmet Dogan.

It is unclear if the authorities have launched an investigation into his death.