ISTANBUL

Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler paid a condolence visit to officials who arrived in Ankara to receive the remains of the Libyan military delegation that was aboard the aircraft that crashed on Tuesday.

In a post shared on Turkish social media NSosyal, the ministry said that the Libyan military officials and the families of those who lost their lives came to Türkiye to receive the remains.

The statement said Chief of the General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu also paid a condolence visit to the Libyan officials and families. Both Guler and Bayraktaroglu expressed sorrow over the accident and extended condolences to the families and the Libyan people.

On Tuesday, the Falcon 50-type business jet crashed after taking off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport en route to Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

The plane was found about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) south of Kesikkavak in the Turkish capital Ankara’s Haymana district.

Search operations continued through the night despite heavy rain and fog, and officials are monitoring efforts from a mobile coordination center set up by Türkiye's disaster management agency AFAD.