Turkey Announces Death of 20 Soldiers in Military Cargo Plane Crash Over Georgia
Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday that 20 soldiers were killed when a C-130 military cargo plane crashed over Georgia’s Kakheti region while returning from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense released the names of the service members who died in the crash, stating that Turkish and Georgian authorities have begun surveying the crash site to determine the cause of the incident.
Preliminary footage showed the aircraft falling while engulfed in flames, though Ankara has not yet announced an official cause for the crash. This marks the deadliest Turkish military accident since 2020.
The presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, extended their condolences to Turkey. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Bruck also expressed Washington’s solidarity with Ankara following the tragedy.
