An Azerbaijan Airlines commercial plane, with 67 people on board, including 5 crew members, crashed near the city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan, in the early hours of Wednesday (25), international agencies report. The aircraft, a jet manufactured by the Brazilian company Embraer, was flying from Baku, in Arzeibaijão, to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region, in southern Russia, but ended up deviating from its original route until crashing on the opposite side of the Caspian Sea.
Russia’s aviation regulator said the diversion was due to an emergency, which may have been caused by a bird strike. Before crashing, the aircraft flew close to Aktau airport.
Videos of the accident released in the press and on social media show the plane descending rapidly before exploding upon hitting the coast, and thick black smoke rising. Reports say that bloodied and bruised passengers were seen walking on the fuselage that had remained intact.
Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that firefighters put out the fire and that there were at least 32 survivors, including two children, who were taken to a nearby hospital. The bodies of the dead were being recovered.
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences, as did Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan. Aliyev decided to leave Russia, where he was supposed to participate in a summit on Wednesday (25), and return home. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said that some of those being treated at the hospital were in extremely serious conditions and that he and others would pray for their speedy recovery.
In a statement, Embraer, manufacturer of the aircraft, regretted the accident and made itself available to help authorities in investigating the causes of the crash.
“We are deeply saddened by today’s incident near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones affected by this incident. We are closely monitoring the situation and remain fully committed to supporting the competent authorities”, said the company.
* With information from Reuters Agency
