Many were feared killed as an Azerbaijan Airlines flight on the way from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya, carrying 110 people, crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport on Wednesday (December 25).
So far, it has been known that six people survived the crash, as stated by Kazakhstan’s health ministry. The plane was reportedly carrying 105 passengers and five crew members.
A video doing the rounds of social media shows the plane making a rapid descent, climbing up again, and then making another descent before crashing and bursting into flames. A ball of fire and plumes of smoke can be seen as the plane vanishes behind some buildings in the clip.
The Federal could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
According to Russian news agencies, the flight was rerouted due to fog. However, Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement that the plane had made an “emergency landing” about 3 km from Aktau.
“The Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, flight numbered J2-8243 on the Baku-Grozny route, made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers near the city of Aktau. Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public,” the airline wrote on Instagram.