Khaberni - The Turkish Ministry of Defense said today, Wednesday, that 20 soldiers died in the crash of a Turkish military cargo plane in Georgia yesterday, Tuesday.
A Turkish military transport aircraft, a C-130, crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday carrying 20 people. An initial video from the crash site near the Azerbaijan border showed twisted metal scattered on a grassy hill, while parts of the aircraft body were still on fire amid rising dark smoke into the sky. Fire trucks were parked nearby and a helicopter hovered at low altitude.
A widely circulated social media clip apparently shows the aircraft heading towards the ground and then catching fire. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the authenticity of this video.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan momentarily stopped a speech he was giving in Ankara to offer condolences to those he described as "martyrs," a term typically employed not only for battle casualties but also for public service members who die while performing their duties. Erdoğan, his office, or the ministry did not disclose the cause of the incident or provide any details about the number of victims. Local media reported, without specifying numbers, that the aircraft was carrying individuals from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The American ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, expressed on the X platform his "deep sorrow for the tragic accident that befell a Turkish Armed Forces aircraft today" and offered his condolences to the families of the victims, stating that the United States "stands with its Turkish allies."
