Turkish military cargo plane crashes in Georgia; casualties reported

Ankara: A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, prompting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to offer condolences for "our martyrs" as search and rescue crews headed for the scene.

Turkey's defence ministry announced the crash, near Georgia's border with Azerbaijan, and said it was coordinating with Georgian authorities to reach the site.

While finishing a speech in Ankara, Erdogan was handed a note by his aides, after which he said he was saddened to hear about the plane's crash.

"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," he said.

Erdogan, his office and the ministry did not say what caused the crash, and they did not provide the number of casualties. Local media said, without citing numbers, that there were both Turkish and Azeri personnel on board.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said he had spoken by phone to his Georgian counterpart, adding the Georgian minister was en route to the crash site.