Georgian interior minister on site of Turkish military plane crash

Georgian Interior Minister Gela Geladze is on site following the crash of a Turkish Air Force transport aircraft in the town of Signagi, located in Georgia’s Kakheti region, APA reports.

He is accompanied by First Deputy Roni Meskhi, Kakheti Governor Georgi Aladashvili, and representatives from relevant departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Authorities are overseeing search and rescue operations and coordinating with international teams responding to the incident.

The Turkish C-130 military transport aircraft crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border while flying from Azerbaijan to Türkiye. The crash occurred in the Signagi area, approximately five kilometres from the Georgian border. The aircraft was carrying 20 Turkish Armed Forces personnel, according to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.

Search and rescue operations have been launched, coordinated between Turkish, Georgian, and Azerbaijani authorities. Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has also opened an investigation into potential violations of aviation safety or operational protocols that may have contributed to the crash.

By Vugar Khalilov