Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia, 20 feared dead

Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia, 20 feared dead

A Turkish military aircraft carrying at least 20 personnel has crashed in Georgia, near the country’s border with Azerbaijan, Türkiye’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

The C-130 Hercules cargo plane had departed from Ganja, Azerbaijan, before going down in Georgia’s Sighnaghi area in the Kakheti region — about five kilometres from the Azerbaijani border.

Authorities have yet to confirm the number of casualties, but both Türkiye and Azerbaijan have indicated that there were fatalities. The cause of the crash remains unknown as investigations continue.

Türkiye’s Defence Ministry said the aircraft was carrying 20 Turkish personnel, including flight crew, though reports from Azerbaijani media suggested that some Azerbaijani military officers might also have been onboard.

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Footage aired on Azerbaijani television showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site. Georgia’s Interior Minister, Gela Geladze, arrived at the scene around 5 p.m. local time, confirming that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy, offering condolences to the families of those killed. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also mourned the loss, describing the incident as “a shared tragedy for both nations.”

According to Georgia’s air navigation service, Sakaeronavigatsia, the aircraft vanished from radar soon after entering Georgian airspace and did not send any distress signal before the crash.

The U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, Tom Barrack, also expressed condolences, pledging Washington’s solidarity with Ankara during what he described as “a moment of profound loss.”

Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia, 20 feared dead

(Reuters)