A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane with at least 20 personnel on board spiralled to the ground and crashed in Georgia on November 11 after taking off from Azerbaijan.

In initial reactions, officials did not estimate the number of casualties or talk abou the possible cause of the incident near the Azerbaijan border.

A Turkish C-130 Hercules military cargo plane with at least 20 personnel on board spiralled to the ground and crashed in Georgia on November 11 after taking off from Azerbaijan.

In initial reactions, officials did not estimate the number of casualties or talk about the possible cause of the incident near the Azerbaijan border.

Footage posted on social media and broadcast by Turkish media appeared to show the US-made plane corkscrewing towards the earth before bursting into flames, but it was not possible to immediately verify the recordings. Video on social networks in the wake of the crash showed chunks of twisted metal spread across a grassy knoll. There were some reports that both Turkish and Azerbaijani personnel were aboard the plane.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan broke off from a speech in Ankara to express his “great sorrow” and offer condolences for the deaths, saying: "God willing, we will overcome this crash with minimum hardships. May God rest the soul of our martyrs, and let us be with them through our prayers."

Erdogan uses the term “martyrs” to refer to soldiers killed in combat or during the performance of their general duties.

After a call with Erdogan, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that the they discussed "the tragic news of the loss of servicemen" in the crash.

The crash site is in the Sighnaghi municipality of Kakheti, notable for its floodplain forests and rolling hills.

Azerbaijan said the plane took off from the city of Ganja.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said his Georgian counterpart, Gela Geladze, had reached the wreckage of the aircraft and search and rescue operations were continuing, Reuters said.

Georgia’s air navigation agency, Sakaeronavigatsia, confirmed that the aircraft vanished from radar shortly after entering Georgian airspace.

The crash is being investigated under Article 275, part 4 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which “pertains to the violation of air transport safety or operation rules resulting in loss of life”.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it was “deeply shocked” by the crash and reaffirmed that “Azerbaijan is always by the side of brotherly Turkey.”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also offered his condolences, saying he was “deeply saddened by the tragic crash of Turkey’s military cargo plane in Georgia”.

In mid-October, the UK Defence Journal reported that the UK had transferred 12 retired Royal Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft to Turkey for maintenance and modernisation under a sales deal.