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All 20 people on board a military cargo plane have died after the aircraft crashed in Georgia’s border region.
Turkey has confirmed that 20 of its soldiers died after the C-130 Hercules plane plunged suddenly in eastern Georgia near the border with Azerbaijan.
The Turkish defence ministry said an investigation has been launched over what caused the American-made cargo plane to crash on Tuesday.
It’s NATO member Turkey’s deadliest military incident since 2020.
Footage taken just moments before the crash appears to point out the aircraft spiralling down with a trail of white smoke in its wake.
The plane then went up in flames after hitting the bottom within the Sighnaghi municipality, and it is believed there have been no survivors.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commented on the disaster during a speech yesterday: ‘God willing, we’ll overcome this crash with minimum hardships. May God rest the souls of our martyrs, and allow us to be with them through our prayers.’
The rationale for the crash has not been confirmed yet, but Turkish and Georgian officials are cooperating on the investigation.
Turkey’s defence minister, Yasar Guler, said: ‘Our heroic comrades-in-arms were martyred on November 11, 2025, when our C-130 military cargo plane, which had taken off from Azerbaijan en path to our country, crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border.’
Condolences have poured in from world leaders, including the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte.
The Hercules C-130, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is a well-liked alternative of aircraft for militaries world wide.
The model is designed for transporting troops, cargo and equipment, and it has 4 engines, allowing it to make landings and takeoffs in difficult conditions.
The US firm expressed condolences over the crash and said it would help Turkey through the investigation, Reuters reports.
Turkey uses Hercules aircraft widely to support its military and logistics operations.
Azerbaijan and Turkey have close ties, they usually have been cooperating particularly closely for the reason that dispute between Azerbaijan, Armenia and breakaway factions fighting for the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
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