An Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft with more than 70 passengers onboard crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, the Kazakh transport ministry said. The Kazakh transport ministry confirmed that the plane carried 67 passengers and five crew members. According to local health authorities, 14 survivors of the crash have been admitted to the hospital.
The ministry said that emergency responders were working to extinguish a fire at the crash site. The passenger plane, said to be operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was traveling from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya. However, due to heavy fog in Grozny, the flight was diverted and eventually made an emergency landing request before going up in flames.
Horrific Crash Due to Fog
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There were 67 passengers and five crew members on board fight from Azerbaijan capital Baku to Russian city Grozny. “At the moment, 14 survivors have been taken to the regional hospital, including five in intensive care,” the health ministry’s regional department said in a statement
“A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines,” the ministry said on Telegram.
Azerbaijan Airlines, the national flag carrier, said that the Embraer 190 had “made an emergency landing” around three kilometers from Aktau, an oil and gas center located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
The country’s emergency ministry reported that its teams were working to extinguish a fire at the crash site.
“Information about casualties is currently being clarified but, according to preliminary information, there are survivors,” it said.
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Video footage of the crash captured the plane erupting in flames upon impact with the ground, followed by a thick column of black smoke. The aircraft was engulfed in fire and fractured into multiple pieces as it landed in Aktau, located in western Kazakhstan.
Chaos at Crash Scene
The ministry later said that initial findings suggest 25 people survived the crash. At least 10 people were confirmed dead after the Embraer 190 crash, with reports indicating they were ejected from the cabin.
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The Embraer E190AR, registered as 4K-AZ65, issued a distress signal at an altitude of 2,125 feet over the Caspian Sea. Reports indicated that the plane collided with a bird and experienced a steering failure.
Kazakh authorities said they were investigating various potential causes of the incident, including a technical malfunction, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Footage showed the aircraft descending steeply, with its nose pointed down at an unusually steep angle. Kazaeronavigatsiya – the Kazakhstan air navigation service – said: “An Embraer 190 AHY8243 aircraft travelling on the Baku-Grozny route declared an emergency situation due to collision with a bird and violation of steering control… The aircraft was carrying 105 passengers and five crew members.”
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Grozny, the destination, is the capital of the Chechnya republic, a Russian region led by Vladimir Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, which frequently deploys troops to fight in the war against Ukraine.