Turkish military plane with 20 on board crashes near Georgia-Azerbaijan border

A Turkish military cargo plane carrying 20 people crashed in Georgia on its way home from Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Turkey's defence ministry confirmed the crash in a statement, saying: "Our C-130 military cargo plane, which took off from Azerbaijan to return home, has crashed at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border." It added that there were "20 personnel on board, including the flight crew." Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the statement.

Dramatic footage shared in Azerbaijani media appeared to show the plane spinning horizontally and sending up a large cloud of black smoke after the crash. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said authorities were working with counterparts in Georgia to reach the wreckage, and expressed sorrow for "our martyrs." In a post on social media, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev extended his condolences to the Turkish leader. Georgia's interior ministry confirmed that the plane went down in Sighnaghi area -- about five kilometers from the country's border with Azerbaijan.

Georgia's air traffic control service said the aircraft had disappeared from radar shortly after entering the Georgian airspace, and that it had been informed of the crash by emergency services. The C-130 Hercules military cargo plane -- which was involved in the crash -- is made by the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.