A passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau with 62 passengers and five crew members on board, Kazakh authorities said, adding that at least 28 people survived.
Two children are believed to be among the survivors and are being treated at a nearby hospital.
Unverified video of Wednesday's crash showed the plane burst into flames and plumes of thick black smoke as it hit the ground. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen staggering from the part of the plane that remained intact.
More than 50 rescue workers rushed to the scene and successfully extinguished the fire at the crash site. Kazakh officials later said more than 150 emergency workers were at the scene, and the Ministry of Health said a plane with specialist doctors had been dispatched from the capital Astana to treat the injured.
“A plane flying on the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines,” Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport said on Telegram.
According to Russian news agencies, the plane was flying from Baku to Grozny in Chechnya, but changed course due to fog in Grozny.
Kazakh authorities said they had launched an investigation into what happened, considering possible explanations such as technical problems, Russia's Interfax news agency said.
The country's flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines said its Embraer 190 plane made an emergency landing about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea.
There were 62 passengers on board the flight. According to preliminary information, the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani nationals, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakh nationals, and three Kyrgyz nationals.
The airline said it had set up a hotline for families of passengers. Contrary to reports from the scene, the airline said there were no children on board. “According to information, some survivors are receiving initial medical assistance,” it added.
Russia's aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggests the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after colliding with a bird.
Mobile phone footage circulating online showed the plane plummeting before crashing to the ground in a fireball.
Other footage showed parts of the fuselage torn off the wings and the rest of the plane lying upside down in the grass. The images corresponded to the plane's color and registration number.
According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24.com, the plane made the movements shown to the right as it approached Aktau's airport, gaining and losing altitude significantly over the final minutes of the flight.
In another online post, FlightRadar24 said the aircraft faced “strong GPS jamming” that “caused the aircraft to transmit fraudulent ADS-B data” allowing flight tracking websites to track the aircraft during the flight. I mentioned the information to make it so. Russia has been accused in the past of interfering with GPS communications in the wider region.
Kazakh authorities say a government commission has been set up to investigate what happened, and members of the commission will fly to the scene to ensure the families of those on the plane receive the help they need. He said that. The government announced that Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan's investigation.
Following news of the crash, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev cut short a planned trip to Russia to attend an informal summit of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a group of former Soviet states, the presidential palace announced. In a statement.
President Vladimir Putin was among those who expressed condolences. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president expressed his condolences to Aliyev.
“Unfortunately, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan has been forced to leave St. Petersburg.” [where he had a summit]. “President Putin has already called Mr. Peskov and expressed his condolences regarding the Azerbaijani plane crash in Aktau,” Peskov said. “We deeply sympathize with those who lost relatives and friends in this plane crash, and wish the survivors a speedy recovery.”
First lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also Azerbaijan's vice president, said: “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the tragic loss of life in a plane crash near Aktau.”
“My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. I wish them strength and perseverance! I also wish a speedy recovery for the injured,” she said on Instagram.
Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his condolences in a statement, saying those being treated in hospitals were in extremely serious condition and praying for his and others' speedy recovery. said.
