Turkish military cargo plane crashes in neighboring Georgia, killing 20 soldiers

Türkiye’s Defense Ministry confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed on Tuesday when a military cargo plane crashed in neighboring Georgia while returning from Azerbaijan.

Georgian Interior Minister Gela Geladze said 18 bodies had been found at the crash site of the Turkish C-130 plane and added that the search for two more bodies was continuing, according to the Reuters news agency.

Communication with the plane was lost 27 minutes into the flight to Türkiye, according to the country’s media.

A video posted online and broadcast by Turkish media showed the plane’s tail detaching from the fuselage in midair as the large plane spun out of control and plummeted toward the ground. Another clip shared by Reuters news agency showed debris scattered across farmland in Georgia.

The Turkish Defense Ministry published photographs of the 20 soldiers killed in the accident on social media on Tuesday, with the message: “We bury you in our hearts.”

The ministry said Turkish officials were coordinating with authorities in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and that a Turkish accident investigation team was also at the disaster site.

The cause of the plane crash will be determined after a detailed examination of the wreckage by the Turkish team, the ministry said.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barack posted a message of condolence on social media, saying he was “deeply saddened by today’s tragic crash of a Turkish Armed Forces aircraft” and expressing solidarity with “our Turkish allies.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also expressed solidarity with Turkey, which is a member of the transatlantic defense alliance, saying: “We honor their service and are deeply grateful for everything that the Turkish Armed Forces – and indeed all our uniformed men and women across the Alliance – do to keep us safe every day.”

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, Russia and others also sent their condolences and expressed solidarity with Türkiye following the accident.

The C-130 “Hercules” is a military transport aircraft designed and built by the American company Lockheed Martin.

The Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported that the C-130 plane that crashed had been in service for 57 years. Türkiye bought the plane from Saudi Arabia in 2010, after it was retired from service there, and added it to its own fleet, the newspaper said.

The soldiers’ families were personally informed by authorities across Turkey and the country’s national Anadolu news agency shared photos of some of the soldiers’ homes draped in Turkish flags.