20 dead as military plane crashes in Georgia

All 20 people onboard a military cargo plane that crashed in Georgia on its return from Azerbaijan have been confirmed dead.

Confirming the incident, the defence ministry said the plane took off from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon but crashed shortly after crossing the border into eastern Georgia.

The ministry disclosed that there were 20 people on board, including the flight crew.

“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,” Defence Minister Yasar Guler said in a statement posted on his X account alongside 20 photographs of those who died.

7 dead, 11 injured in US cargo plane crash

Turkey has not said what caused the accident but dramatic footage taken by eyewitnesses and published by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the plane spinning horizontally alongside several bits of debris as it fell.

Georgia’s interior ministryconfirmed the plane went down in the Sighnaghi area, “about five kilometres (3.1 miles) from Georgia’s state border” with Azerbaijan.

The C-130 Hercules military cargo plane is made by United States manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

The Star