News|AviationTurkiye confirms all 20 soldiers died in its army plane crash in GeorgiaA Turkish accident investigation has begun its work at the crash site in coordination with Georgian authorities.
All 20 personnel on board a Turkish C-130 military cargo aircraft that crashed in Georgia close to its border with Azerbaijan have died, the Turkish Defence Ministry says, as investigators examine the cause of the accident at the site.
All 20 personnel on board a Turkish C-130 military cargo aircraft that crashed in Georgia close to its border with Azerbaijan have died, the Turkish Defence Ministry says, as investigators examine the cause of the accident at the site.
The confirmation came on Wednesday, a day after the plane crashed after taking off from the nearby Azerbaijani city of Ganja.
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The ministry said a Turkish accident investigation, in coordination with Georgian authorities, had begun inspecting the wreckage at the crash site in the Sighnaghi municipality of Georgia’s Kakheti district early on Wednesday.
Debris at the site of a Turkish military cargo plane crash in Georgia’s Sighnaghi municipality [Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP Photo] The crash, Turkiye’s deadliest military incident since 2020, happened about 5km (3.1 miles) from the Georgian-Azerbaijani border.
Georgia’s Sakaeronavigatsia air traffic control service said the aircraft disappeared from radar soon after entering the country’s airspace, sending no distress signal prior to the crash.
The confirmation came on Wednesday, a day after the plane crashed after taking off from the nearby Azerbaijani city of Ganja.
Dramatic footage published by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the aircraft sending a large cloud of black smoke into the sky after it crashed, leaving debris strewn across the ground.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “deeply saddened” by the crash and expressed his condolences.
Turkiye and Azerbaijan have strong economic and cultural ties, and maintain close military cooperation , with Ankara training Azerbaijani officers and supplying weapons to Baku.
Advertisement Erdogan and other Turkish officials had recently attended Victory Day celebrations in Baku on November 8, marking Azerbaijan’s battlefield success over Armenia in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.
Reactions have flowed in from around the world in response to the crash, with leaders and governments of countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Italy and Malta expressing condolences.
The United States ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, also expressed his country’s solidarity, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also conveyed “deepest condolences” to Turkiye and the families of the deceased.
Deepest condolences to our Ally Türkiye and the loved ones of all those lost in the tragic crash of a Turkish military plane today. We honour their service and are deeply grateful for all that the Turkish Armed Forces – and indeed all our men and women in uniform across the…
Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.
