An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Christmas Day, leaving 38 dead and 29 injured, officials confirmed.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was en route from Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic and made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Kanat Bozumbayev, disclosed that 29 survivors, including two children, were rescued from the wreckage with 11 of the survivors are reportedly in critical condition.
Footage from the crash site showed dazed and bloodied survivors emerging from the charred remains of the plane.
“The bodies are in poor condition, mostly burnt, all collected,” Bozumbayev said. “Now they will be in the morgue, and identification will take place.”
“There is only one survivor whose identity remains unknown, according to Bozumbayev. “She is unconscious, has no documents, and is in the hospital,” he added.
President Aliyev expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy, offering condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. He declared December 26 a national day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
“I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the swift recovery of those injured,” Aliyev wrote on social media.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, spoke to Aliyev on the phone and expressed his condolences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Speaking at the CIS meeting in St. Petersburg, Putin also said that Russia’s Emergency Ministry sent a plane with equipment and medical workers to Kazakhstan to assist with the aftermath of the crash.
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities said they were investigating the crash.
Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”
The flight’s passenger list included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals. Kazakh authorities had initially reported 32 survivors but later revised the number to 29 as investigations continued.