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ANKARA: Turkiye on Wednesday said 20 of its soldiers were killed when a military transport plane crashed in Georgia a day earlier, marking the NATO member’s deadliest military incident since 2020.

The C-130 cargo aircraft left Azerbaijan for Turkiye and crashed in Georgia on Tuesday, leaving chunks of twisted metal strewn across a grassy knoll.

Ankara has not provided a reason for the crash, but said Turkish and Georgian authorities started inspections at the site, located in the Sighnaghu municipality of Georgia’s Kakheti district, at 0330 GMT on Wednesday.

Footage from the site near the border with Azerbaijan showed ambulances, firetrucks and army vehicles in the area around the burned fuselage, with search-and-rescue teams scanning the grounds.

Unverified social media videos on Tuesday showed the plane breaking apart in the air and then corkscrewing toward the earth in a blaze.

On Wednesday, the Turkish Defense Ministry released a list of the 20 soldiers who were killed.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, NATO’s secretary-general, Germany, the US, Russia and others sent condolences and expressed solidarity with Turkiye after the crash. Ankara said it was closely coordinating with Azerbaijan and Georgia on the probe.

US defense firm Lockheed Martin, which makes the C-130 Hercules, said it was committed to helping the investigation.

The C-130 Hercules, which is used widely by air forces around the world, is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft capable of operating from unprepared runways.

Its versatile airframe allows for cargo, troop and equipment transport, airborne assault and reconnaissance missions, making it a mainstay tactical airlifter for many militaries.

Some analysts have said footage and images indicate the plane broke apart mid-flight, adding that Turkiye’s fleet of C-130s is old and in need of renewal, despite the aircraft’s reliability.