All 20 people onboard a Turkish military cargo plane that crashed in eastern Georgia have died, Turkish authorities confirmed on Wednesday. The C-130 Hercules aircraft had taken off from Ganja Airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon, en route back to Turkey, when it went down shortly after crossing the border into Georgia.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry said the victims included the flight crew and military personnel. Defence Minister Yasar Guler described the deceased as “our heroic comrades-in-arms” and announced their deaths in a statement posted on his social media account, alongside photographs of all 20 individuals. The exact cause of the crash has not yet been disclosed.
Eyewitnesses captured dramatic footage that was later published by Azerbaijani media, showing the plane spinning horizontally in the air as debris scattered below. The visuals underscore the severity of the crash and the suddenness of the accident.
According to Georgia’s Interior Ministry, the plane went down in the Sighnaghi area, approximately five kilometres from Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan. Georgian air traffic control reported that the aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after entering Georgian airspace, without transmitting a distress signal. Emergency services were the first to alert authorities to the crash.
The C-130 Hercules, manufactured by US company Lockheed Martin, is widely used for military transport and logistical operations. Investigators from both Turkey and Georgia are expected to examine the wreckage to determine the cause of the accident and whether any technical malfunction or other factors contributed to the crash.
The incident marks a tragic loss for the Turkish military and raises concerns about air safety protocols during cross-border flights in the region. Turkish authorities have pledged a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash and the identification of any potential operational or mechanical issues.
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