Turkish navy cargo aircraft crash in Georgia killed all 20 on board

[ad_1] ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — All 20 personnel on board a Turkish navy cargo aircraft that crashed in Georgia have been killed, Turkey’s protection minister introduced on Wednesday.

The C-130 aircraft was flying from Ganja, Azerbaijan to Turkey when it crashed in Georgia’s Sighnaghi municipality, near the Azerbaijani border, on Tuesday. The reason for the crash is being investigated.

A Turkish accident investigation workforce reached the crash web site and was inspecting the wreckage of the aircraft, in coordination with the Georgian authorities, the Nationwide Protection Ministry mentioned.

Georgian Inside Minister Gela Geladze mentioned authorities have thus far recovered the stays of 18 of the victims and efforts have been persevering with to find the opposite two.

Talking on the crash web site, Geladze mentioned particulars regarding the accident could be launched “in phases” in coordination with the Turkish authorities, resulting from navy sensitivities.

The wreckage was unfold throughout a plain that features farmland and is surrounded by hills, Turkish personal broadcaster NTV reported from the positioning. Particles from the plane was scattered throughout a number of areas, the report mentioned.

“Our heroic comrades-in-arms have been martyred on November 11, 2025, when our C-130 navy cargo aircraft, which had taken off from Azerbaijan en path to our nation, crashed close to the Georgia-Azerbaijan border,” Protection Minister Yasar Guler mentioned in a message posted on X, along with pictures of the navy personnel that have been killed.

On Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Company quoted the Georgian aviation authority as saying that contact with the aircraft was misplaced a couple of minutes after it entered Georgia’s airspace. The aircraft had not issued a misery sign, it mentioned.

C-130 navy cargo planes are extensively utilized by Turkey’s armed forces for transporting personnel and dealing with logistical operations.

Turkey and Azerbaijan preserve shut navy cooperation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and different Turkish officers attended Azerbaijan’s Victory Day celebrations in Baku on Saturday, marking Azerbaijan’s 2020 military success over Armenia over management of the Karabakh area, recognized internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, a battle that had lasted nearly four decades .

It was not instantly clear if the navy personnel on the aircraft had attended the ceremonies.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian International Minister Maka Botchorishvili prolonged their condolences to their Turkish counterparts over Tuesday’s crash.

“We're deeply shocked,” Aliyev mentioned in a message, in accordance with the Anadolu Company.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack provided his condolences and affirmed Washington’s solidarity with Ankara. NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte additionally prolonged his sympathies, honored the navy personnel who have been killed, and thanked all NATO personnel for his or her service.

There was no data on funeral preparations or when the stays could be returned to Turkey.

Sozcu newspaper mentioned the plane belonged to the twelfth Air Base Command in Kayseri, central Turkey. It had departed Kayseri on Monday, flown to Azerbaijan to select up personnel in Ganja, and was en path to Merzifon, in northern Turkey.

The aircraft was manufactured in 1968 and initially served in Saudi Arabia. It was added to the Turkish Armed Forces stock in 2010, Sozcu reported.

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Sophiko Megrelidze contributed from Tbilisi, Georgia.

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