mariya gordeeva
ASTANA (Reuters) – An Embraer airliner flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed on Wednesday near the Kazakh city of Aktau with 62 passengers and five crew members on board, Kazakh authorities said 28 people survived. announced.
Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, burst into flames and plumes of thick black smoke as it hit the ground. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen staggering from the part of the plane that remained intact.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergencies said in a statement that firefighters had extinguished the fire and the survivors, including two children, were being treated at a nearby hospital. The bodies of the deceased had been recovered.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190, flight number J2-8243, was flying from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen region, before making an emergency landing about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Kazakhstan. announced that he was forced to. The city is located on the opposite coast of the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Russia.
Kazakh authorities announced that a government commission had been set up to investigate what happened, and ordered its members to fly to the scene to ensure that the families of the dead and injured received the assistance they needed.
The government announced that Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan’s investigation.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggests the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after colliding with a bird.
After the crash, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was returning from Russia, where he was scheduled to attend a summit on Wednesday, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.
Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his condolences in a statement, saying that some of those being treated in hospitals were in a very serious condition, and that he and others were safe. He said he prays for a speedy recovery.
