A Turkish NATO C-130 military transport aircraft crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border after reportedly losing control mid-air, resulting in a massive fireball.
The plane was en route from Azerbaijan to Turkey when it went down, with the exact number of personnel on board still unknown.
Search and rescue teams from both Turkey and Georgia are at the scene, about five kilometers from Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has launched a criminal investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed condolences to the victims’ families, referring to those on board as “our martyrs”.
“A NATO C-130 cargo plane that took off from Azerbaijan to our country has crashed in Georgia.
“Search and rescue operations are ongoing in coordination with Georgian authorities,” according to Turkey’s Defence Ministry.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have close defence and security ties, often conducting joint military drills.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, with speculation about a possible internal explosion unverified.