A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane has crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan en route back to Turkey, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Search and rescue are underway in coordination with Georgian authorities © Mena Today
A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, prompting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to offer condolences for "our martyrs" as search and rescue crews headed for the scene.
Turkey's defence ministry announced the crash, near Georgia's border with Azerbaijan, and said it was coordinating with Georgian authorities to reach the site.
While finishing a speech in Ankara, Erdogan was handed a note by his aides, after which he said he was saddened to hear about the plane's crash.
"God willing, we will overcome this crash with minimum hardships. May God rest the soul of our martyrs, and let us be with them through our prayers," he said.
Erdogan, his office and the ministry did not say what caused the crash, and they did not provide the number of casualties. Local media said, without citing numbers, that there were both Turkish and Azeri personnel on board.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said he had spoken by phone to his Georgian counterpart, adding the Georgian minister was en route to the crash site.
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu
A Turkish prosecutor has demanded a prison sentence of more than 2,000 years for jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu for allegedly leading a vast corruption network that cost the state billions of lira, according to an indictment seen by Reuters.
Turkey is preparing a law to let thousands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and civilians return home from hideouts in northern Iraq under negotiations to end generations of war.
Turkish prosecutors said on Friday they had ordered the detention of 21 people, including 17 referees and the chairman of an unnamed Super Lig club as part of an investigation into alleged betting on soccer matches.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.