Turkey on Wednesday said all 20 people onboard a military cargo plane that crashed in Georgia on its return from Azerbaijan had died.
Defence Minister Yasar Guler said, “Our heroic comrades-in-arms were martyred on 11 November 2025 due to the crash of our C-130 military cargo aircraft, which had taken off from Azerbaijan to return to Turkey.”
The plane had departed from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon but went down shortly after crossing into eastern Georgia.
Georgia’s interior ministry said the crash occurred in the Sighnaghi area, about five kilometres from the border with Azerbaijan.
Officials confirmed that all 20 people on board, including the flight crew, were killed.
Guler posted photos of the victims on his X account in tribute.
Turkey has not stated the cause of the crash, but footage shared by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the aircraft spinning and breaking apart mid-air.
Georgian authorities said the plane disappeared from radar “without transmitting a distress signal.”
The downed aircraft was a C-130 Hercules military transport plane manufactured by US company Lockheed Martin.
