An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane carrying 67 people has crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau on Wednesday, authorities said.
Kazakh officials said 38 people had died after the crash, and some of the 29 survivors suffered serious injuries.
Kazankstan’s Emergencies Ministry said survivors had been taken to hospitals.
Mobile footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on Telegram that its teams found the aircraft on fire upon arrival at the scene.
Rescue units have extinguished the fire, the ministry later said. Doctors and psychologists were also at the site.
Plane traveling from Azerbaijan to Russia
The Embraer passenger plane was operated by Azerbaijan’s Airlines and was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in Russia’s Chechnya region.
But the plane was re-routed due to fog in Grozny, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
A spokesperson for Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information showed that the pilot had chosen to divert to Aktau after the plane collided with birds.
Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) said the plane made an “emergency landing” near the city of Aktau.
Investigation pending
The Kazakh Transport Ministry said some 62 passengers and five crew members were on board the plane, citing Azerbaijani sources.
The transport ministry said the passengers included 37 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, six Kazakhstanis and three people from Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan’s Transport Ministry said it was launching a government commission to investigate the incident.
In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public updated and changed its social media banners to solid black.
rmt/dj (Reuters, AFP, AP)