Dozens of passengers are feared dead after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, according to reports.
The Embraer 190 airliner was flying from Azerbaijan to Russia with 62 passengers and five crew members on board, Kazakh authorities said, adding that 32 survivors had been rescued.
Flight J2-8243 deviated hundreds of miles from its planned route and crashed on the other side of the Caspian Sea. Officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash came shortly after drone attacks hit southern Russia. Drone activity has previously closed airports in the region, and the nearest Russian airport in the plane's flight path was also closed on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Russian aviation surveillance authorities said the emergency may have been caused by a bird strike.
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In this photo taken from a video released by the Mangistau regional administration, the wreckage of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near Aktau Airport, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, December 25, 2024. (Mangistau Regional Administration/AP Photo)
Kazakh officials said there were 42 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyz nationals on board.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that both pilots died in the crash, citing preliminary findings from emergency personnel at the scene. The news agency also cited medical personnel who said four bodies had been recovered from the crash so far.
The ministry told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that a total of 29 survivors, including two children, were hospitalized, the Associated Press reported. Many passengers are still unknown.
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More than 30 people are believed to have died in the crash near the Kazakh city of Aktau. (Azamat Sarsenbayev/AP Photo)
According to Reuters, footage of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly, hitting the beach and bursting into flames, followed by thick plumes of black smoke. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen staggering from the part of the plane that remained intact.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was visiting Russia, returned to Azerbaijan after hearing the news of the crash, according to the presidential press office. Aliyev was scheduled to attend an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of former Soviet states established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in St. Petersburg.
Emergency workers at the crash site of an Azerbaijani airliner on December 25, 2024. (Azamat Sarsenbayev/AP Photo)
Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media.
“With deep sadness, I would like to express my condolences to the families of the victims, and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,'' he wrote.
He also signed a decree declaring December 26 as a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
The plane was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, a city in Russia's North Caucasus, the Associated Press reported. (Mangistau Regional Administration/AP Photo)
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Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement that it would keep the public informed and change its social media banners to solid black.
“We pray for God's mercy on the passengers and crew who lost their lives.” The statement regarding X said: “Their pain is our pain as well. We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
