Turkey's defense ministry announced on Tuesday that the country's C-130 military cargo plane crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border.

The ministry said the aircraft was on its way back from Azerbaijan.

Turkish media outlets reported that the plane crashed in Georgian territory and that 20 people, including crew members, were on board. They said the cause of the crash remains unknown.

The defense ministry and other sources say search and rescue operations are continuing at the scene in coordination with Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities.

nhk