Ankara, Turkey – The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that a C-130 military cargo plane, en route from Azerbaijan to Turkey,
crashed minutes after crossing Georgian airspace.
Meanwhile, search and rescue operations are still underway
in coordination between Turkish, Azerbaijani and Georgian authorities.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense said the plane crashed
on the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
This occurred without any prior warning before it disappeared from the radar.
Military cargo plane
For its part, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs published
a statement on the social networking site “NSO CIAL” which read:
A C-130 military cargo plane crashed on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border
while en route from Azerbaijan to Türkiye.
Search and rescue operations have begun in coordination
with Azerbaijani and Georgian authorities.
The Georgian Air Safety Agency confirmed that contact
with the aircraft was suddenly lost.
This prompted the emergency teams to immediately begin search
and rescue operations in accordance with the established protocols.
Flight TUAF543 disappeared
Flight tracking websites showed that aircraft TUAF543 disappeared from radar screens,
This was over Georgian airspace shortly after it took off from Ganja, Azerbaijan.
Social media users also shared videos
It is believed to be the moment a military plane crashed
in the Rustavi region of Georgia.
Authorities have not yet announced the number of crew members
or passengers who were on board the plane.
Meanwhile, rescue teams continue to arrive at the scene
of the accident and assess the damage.
