On Tuesday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that a Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft crashed in Georgia. Ankara is reportedly coordinating a search and rescue operation with Tbilisi. The investigation into the cause of the crash will be conducted with the utmost care, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office stated.
"Our valiant soldiers lost their lives in the crash of a C-130 military aircraft on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, I express my condolences to the families of the deceased," Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on X, attaching a list of 20 deceased servicemen.