A Turkish military cargo plane crashed on the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan as it was flying back home, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
"Our C-130 military cargo plane, which took off from Azerbaijan to return home, has crashed at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border," the ministry said on X, indicating a search and rescue operation was taking place but without saying whether there were any casualties or how many people were on board.
The ministry said the military cargo plane crashed with 20 personnel, including the flight crew, on board and search and rescue efforts are continuing in coordination with Georgian authorities.
In a statement, Georgia's Interior Ministry confirmed the crash of "a Turkish military aircraft" that was flying to Türkiye, saying it went down "about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Georgia's state border" with Azerbaijan.
It said an investigation had been launched.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking during a program in the capital Ankara, said he hoped to overcome the crash of the cargo plane with minimum casualties and offered condolences to the martyrs.
“We continue to work in coordination with national authorities to reach the wreckage.”
The ministry later announced: "Georgian search and rescue teams reached the wreckage of the plane at 5 pm. The wreckage has been secured."
"Our crash investigation team is on its way to the site," it added, stating that the cause of the crash will be determined following a detailed examination of the wreckage by the Turkish team.
On Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also expressed his "deep" sorrow over the incident.
Yerlikaya said he discussed the crash over the phone with his Georgian counterpart Gela Geladze, who he said was also on his way to the scene.
In another post, Yerlikaya said he and Geladze are continuing follow-up calls.
Geladze "reached the wreckage of our C-130 military cargo plane around 5 pm, and search and rescue efforts are continuing," he added.
Turkish Communications Director Burhanettin Duran also said on NSosyal that search and rescue operations were launched "promptly" following the crash.
"To ensure accurate public information, we kindly urge everyone to rely solely on statements issued by official authorities and to refrain from sharing unverified information," he added.
According to Foreign Ministry sources, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had a phone call with his Georgian counterpart Maka Botchorishvili to discuss search and rescue efforts.
Botchorishvili also conveyed her condolences over the plane crash.
On NSosyal, Fidan said that Türkiye is closely monitoring the situation together with Georgian authorities.
Commenting on the incident, Georgia's air traffic authority Sakaeronavigatsia said that the military cargo aircraft went down near the border with Azerbaijan, after which they dispatched a search and rescue team.
On Facebook, the authority said the plane disappeared from its radar several minutes after crossing into Georgian territory without transmitting a signal.
The Georgian Interior Ministry also said on Facebook that the incident is being investigated under the country's criminal code, which it said "implies a violation of the rules of air transport safety or operation, which resulted in the loss of human life."
