
Mumbai: An Embraer 190 passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday while en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region. The crash involved 62 passengers and five crew members. According to Kazakh authorities, 28 people survived, including two children, while the remaining passengers lost their lives.
This video shows what happened in the minutes before the plane crash in Kazakhstan. The plane repeatedly went up and down before crashing. pic.twitter.com/dQ0H1c9R0R
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) December 25, 2024
Unverified video footage of the incident showed the plane bursting into flames upon impact, followed by thick black smoke. Some bloodied and injured passengers were seen stumbling out of an intact section of the fuselage.
Kazakhstan’s emergencies ministry reported that fire services had extinguished the blaze and that survivors were being treated at a nearby hospital. Recovery operations for the deceased were underway.
The crash occurred approximately 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, a city on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, opposite Azerbaijan and Russia. Azerbaijan Airlines stated that the flight, designated J2-8243, was forced to make an emergency landing due to what preliminary reports suggest was a bird strike.
In response, Kazakhstan’s government established a commission to investigate the crash and provide support to the victims’ families. The government also pledged to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the investigation.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev cut short his visit to Russia, where he was attending a summit, following news of the crash. Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, expressed condolences and noted that some survivors were in critical condition, urging prayers for their recovery.
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