Turkey’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed on Tuesday when a military cargo plane crashed in neighboring Georgia on its way back from Azerbaijan.
Georgian Interior Minister Gela Geladze said 18 bodies had been found at the crash site of the Turkish C-130 plane, adding that the search continued for two more bodies, according to the Reuters news agency.
Communication with the plane was lost 27 minutes into its flight to Turkey, according to media outlets in the country.
Video posted online and aired by Turkish media showed the tail of the plane breaking off from the fuselage in the air as the large plane spun out of control and plunged toward the earth. Another clip shared by the Reuters news agency showed debris scattered across farmland in Georgia.
Ankara has not yet provided a reason for its deadliest military incident since 2020. It said Turkish and Georgian authorities began inspections at the site, in the Sighnaghu municipality of Georgia’s Kakheti district, at 0330 GMT on Wednesday.
Initial footage from the scene showed chunks of twisted metal strewn across a grassy knoll, while unverified footage on social media showed the plane breaking apart in midair and then corkscrewing towards the earth in a blaze.
On Wednesday, the Turkish defense ministry released a list of the 20 soldiers killed in the crash.
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, have all conveyed condolences. Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, has also expressed his country’s solidarity with Turkey after the crash.
Turkish Defense Minster Yasar Guler on Tuesday spoke to his Georgian and Azerbaijani counterparts, as well as Azerbaijan’s chief of staff, to discuss search and rescue operations.
U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, which makes the C-130 Hercules that is widely used by air forces around the world, expressed its condolences and said it was committed to helping Turkey in any way during the investigation.
The C-130 Hercules is a cargo, troop and equipment carrier aircraft. It is described as a four-engine, turboprop military transport aircraft that can make use of unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings.
Its versatile airframe has enabled it to be used for other purposes as well, including as a gunship and for airborne assault and reconnaissance operations. It is now viewed as one of the main tactical airlifters for many militaries.
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