Turkish Military Tragedy: 20 Personnel Killed in C-130 Hercules Cargo Plane Crash in Eastern Georgia; Cause Under Investigation

The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced a tragic incident involving the loss of 20 military personnel who were aboard a military cargo plane that crashed in eastern Georgia on Tuesday. The aircraft, a C-130 "Hercules" model, was returning to Turkey from Azerbaijan.

Turkish authorities released the names and photographs of the twenty military personnel, including the flight crew, but did not immediately clarify the cause of the crash. The C-130 Hercules is a well-known military transport aircraft developed by the American company Lockheed Martin, in production since the 1950s.

Eyewitness video footage showed the plane descending in a circular fashion, leaving a trail of white smoke, before crashing and emitting thick black smoke. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, the clips suggested that part of the aircraft had disintegrated during its fall.

The wreckage was located on Tuesday afternoon, only a few kilometers from the Azerbaijani border. A statement released by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, carried by the Anadolu Agency, confirmed that the plane "had 20 individuals on board, including its crew."

The statement added that Georgian search and rescue teams had located the debris, and the exact cause of the crash would be determined after a "detailed examination of the wreckage by the specialized Turkish team."

In parallel, Georgian authorities announced the opening of an official investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident.

The plane had taken off from Ganja in western Azerbaijan and crashed shortly after entering Georgian airspace on Tuesday afternoon. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had mentioned "martyrs" on Tuesday afternoon, though without specifying a casualty count at the time.