Anewz correspondent Nini Nikoleishvili reports from site of crashed Turkish military plane in Sighnaghi Municipality, saying that limited visibility and rugged terrain are slowing down recovery efforts.
Reporting from the nearest accessible point to the crash site in Georgia's Sighnaghi municipality, Anewz can confirm that Georgia's Interior Ministry Gela Geladze, along with First Deputy Rony Mesri, are currently at the site of the incident coordinating rescue and investigation efforts.
Earlier in the day, a Turkish Military cargo C -130 Hercules plane went down near the Georgian -Azerbaijan border killing all 20 people on board.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar shows the aircraft departed from Ganja Airport in Azerbaijan at 14:19 local time, after which it disappeared from international monitoring platforms.
The plane had been flying at approximately 8 kilometers in altitude and a speed of 519 kph before the crash.
Eyewitnesses, including locals, hunters and farmers report seeing scattered debris across the rugged mountainous terrain indicating the scale of the disaster.
Georgian authorities say the aircraft vanished from Georgian Radar just minutes after entering national airspace without sending an emergency signal prompting the Air Navigation Service to immediately launch search and rescue operations.
Helicopters are currently deployed over the steep crash zone several kilometers from Kholagiri Monastery as emergency and security teams work to recover wreckage.
Authorities caution however that due to the extremely challenging conditions, navigating steep terrain, scattered wreckage and limited visibility, that full -site access and recovery operations may take several hours.
High -level coordination continues with Azerbaijan and Turkey, offering support, including emergency personnel and technical assistance, while Georgian agencies remain fully mobilised.
Georgian Authorities have expressed condolences to the victim's families and the people of Turkey,
Turkey's Ministry of Defense has confirmed the number and identities of those decreased while Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has opened a criminal investigation under Article 275 Part 4 concerning violations of aviation safety regulations, resulting in fatalities.
The Ministry also spoke on the discovery of the wreckage of the C-130 military transport aircraft that crashed on Georgian territory.
“This evening, a Georgian search and rescue team located the wreckage of the aircraft. A Turkish air-crash investigation team is heading to the site. The cause of the crash will be determined after a detailed examination of the debris.”
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