Turkish military plane with 20 aboard catches fire mid-air, crashes in Georgia - watch

A Turkish military cargo plane with 20 people on board crashed in Georgia near the Azerbaijani border on Tuesday, authorities from all three countries confirmed, but gave no immediate number of casualties, reported AP.
Turkey’s defence ministry said the C-130 aircraft had taken off from Azerbaijan and was returning to Turkey when it went down in Georgia’s Sighnaghi municipality. The ministry said it was not immediately clear how many crew members were on board, according to Euro News.



Video footage aired by local media appeared to show the plane spiralling down with a trail of white smoke before crashing. A search and rescue operation has been launched in coordination with Azerbaijani and Georgian authorities.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and expressed condolences to the families of those killed. While confirming there were casualties, Erdoğan did not provide further details.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also extended condolences to his Turkish counterpart, saying: “We were deeply saddened by the tragic news of the loss of servicemen in the crash of a Turkish Air Force military cargo plane, which took off from Ganja and crashed in Georgian territory. In this moment of sorrow, I share your grief and, on behalf of myself and the people of Azerbaijan, extend heartfelt condolences to you, the families and loved ones of the deceased, and the fraternal people of Türkiye.”

The Georgian interior ministry said the crash occurred near the town of Sighnaghi, close to the Azerbaijani border, and that an investigation has been opened to determine the cause.

The C-130E Hercules, a four-engine turboprop tactical airlifter, is widely used by the Turkish armed forces for personnel transport and logistical operations.