Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced Wednesday that all 20 soldiers aboard a military cargo the plane that crashed in Georgia was killed.
“Our heroic comrades were martyred on November 11, 2025, when our C-130 military cargo plane, which took off from Azerbaijan on its way to our country, crashed near the Georgian-Azerbaijani border,” Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in a message posted on the X social media platform.
Turkiye plane crash: What happened?
The C-130 aircraft, which departed from Ganja, Azerbaijan, was returning to Turkey when it tragically crashed on Tuesday in the Georgian village of Sighnaghi, which is located close to the Azerbaijan border.
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
Debris was spread across the plain, which includes farmland and is surrounded by hills, Turkish private television NTV reported from the site.
Debris from the plane was scattered in multiple locations, the report said.
On Tuesday, the state administration of Turkey Anadolu Agency cited the Georgian Aviation Authority as saying that contact with the plane was lost minutes after it entered Georgian airspace. In particular, the office confirmed that the plane did not issue any distress signal before losing contact.
The accident is particularly significant because Turkey and Azerbaijan maintain close military cooperation. The aircraft’s presence in the region was linked to recent Victory Day celebrations in Baku on November 8, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials. The ceremonies marked Azerbaijan’s military victory over Armenia in the conflict over control of Karabakh in 2020. It was not immediately clear whether military personnel on the cargo plane attended the ceremonies.
Turkey Air Crash: International Response
The tragic event immediately sparked international expressions of grief. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili expressed their condolences to their Turkish counterparts after Tuesday’s tragedy.
“We are deeply shocked by the news of the loss of life of our soldiers in an accident that occurred on Georgian soil,” Aliyev said in a statement. Anadolu Agency.
The American ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, similarly expressed his condolences and confirmed Washington’s solidarity with Ankara. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also expressed his sympathies, honoring the slain military personnel and thanking all NATO personnel for their service.
Further details regarding funeral arrangements or the repatriation of the remains to Turkey remain unavailable.
