The Turkish Defense Ministry said a military cargo plane flying back to Turkey from Azerbaijan carrying 20 people has crashed near the border inside Georgian territory.
The ministry said in a post on social media that the aircraft involved in the crash on November 11 was a C-130 plane. Georgia's Interior Ministry confirmed the accident, saying it occurred "about" 5 km (3 miles) from Georgia's border with Azerbaijan.
Neither gave any further details including whether there were any casualties or the cause of the crash.
"Our aircraft that crashed had 20 personnel on board, including the flight crew. Search and rescue operations are ongoing," the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped casualties would be minimal while offering his condolences for "our martyrs" on the aircraft.
Several short videos of the plane crash -- verified by RFE/RL -- were circulating on social media, one of which shows the entire fuselage and its fragments falling to the ground in separate pieces.
There also were reports that the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft, though these have not been verified.
