A passenger aircraft with nearly 70 people onboard has crashed near an airport in western Kazakhstan. Reports say at least four people have died.
Russian news agencies and other media outlets say the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, crashed and burst into flames near the city of Aktau on Wednesday.
The airline company says the Embraer 190 aircraft, which was manufactured by the Brazilian company Embraer, made an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau.
Russia’s Interfax News Agency cites local health authorities as saying at least four people died and 24 others are being treated in hospital.
An Azerbaijan news agency says the plane was bound for Grozny in the Chechen Republic in southern Russia from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku, but was rerouted due to fog.
Authorities in Kazakhstan are continuing to rescue survivors and are trying to confirm the details of the situation.