Ministry of National Defense announces number of soldiers on crashed plane: 20 personnel on board

In a statement made on the ministry's social media account, it was said, "A C130 cargo plane of ours, which took off from Azerbaijan to come to our country, has crashed in Georgia. Search and rescue operations have begun in coordination with Georgian authorities."

'THERE ARE 20 PERSONNEL ON THE PLANE'

While the Ministry of National Defense stated that search and rescue efforts are ongoing, the statement included the words, "There were 20 of our personnel on board our crashed plane, including the flight crew."

ERDOĞAN: MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR MARTYRS

AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered his condolences for our soldiers who were martyred on the military plane. In his statement, Erdoğan said;

"I learned with sadness that our military plane crashed on the Azerbaijan-Georgia border. I hope we emerge from this accident with the least amount of trouble."

ALIYEV SENT A LETTER OF CONDOLENCE

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev offered his condolences to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the soldiers who lost their lives in the accident. Aliyev's message included the following statements:

"We are deeply saddened by the news that soldiers lost their lives as a result of a military cargo plane belonging to the Turkish Land Forces, which took off from Ganja, crashing on Georgian territory.

I share your pain during these difficult times, and on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I offer my deepest condolences to you, the families and relatives of those who lost their lives, and the brotherly people of Turkey due to this tragedy.

May God have mercy on them."

STATEMENT FROM INTERIOR MINISTER ALI YERLIKAYA

A statement regarding the crashed plane came from Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Minister Yerlikaya announced that he had spoken with Georgian Interior Minister Gela Geladze and that the minister was heading to the scene of the incident.

GEORGIAN INTERIOR MINISTER HEADING TO THE ACCIDENT ZONE

Minister Yerlikaya's post is as follows:

"I learned with deep sadness that a C130 military cargo plane belonging to our Ministry of National Defense, which was coming to our country from Azerbaijan, crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. I spoke by phone with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Mr. Gela Geladze. The Minister is also heading to the scene. I offer my best wishes to our dear nation."

News Source: 12punto