Turkish authorities confirmed on Tuesday that a military cargo plane has crashed near the Georgian border with Azerbaijan.

"Our C-130 military cargo plane, which took off from Azerbaijan to return home, has crashed at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border," the Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding there were "20 personnel on board, including the flight crew."

At least 20 personnel were on board the C-130 Hercules plane that took off from Azerbaijan en route to Turkey, officials said. Georgia's air traffic control service said the aircraft had disappeared from radar shortly after entering its airspace.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan interrupted a speech in Ankara to pay tribute to "our martyrs."

"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.

In a post on X, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev sent his sympathies to Erdogan.

Turkey asks that crash footage not to be published

Georgian authorities said were working to reach the site and would be investigating alongside Turkish counterparts.

The C-130 Hercules is made by US manufacturer Lockheed Martin and is in use by many air forces around the world to move personnel and equipment.

Later on Tuesday, footage began to circulate in Azerbaijan media purporting to show the plane spinning sideways as it fell, ending in a large cloud of black smoke on the ground. There was also video from what news outlets alleged to be the crash site showing burned wreckage.

The Turkish military has asked the press not to publish images of the crash, citing security and privacy concerns for the victims.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko