Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan, leaving 38 dead
- 25 December, 10:04
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane bound to Chechnya crashed over Kazakhstan on December 25, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors.
Some 67 passengers, including five crew members were on board the Embraer 190 aircraft, when it crashed in Kazakhstan’s Aktau city. The plane was bound to fly to Chechnya’s capital Gronzyy but changed the course from the North Caucasus republic due to fog.
According to preliminary information provide by Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, the Embraer 190 plane’s pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who cancelled his trip to Russia’s St. Petersburg city, also said that the plane was diverted due to weather conditions, stressing that it was too early to speculate about the cause of the crash. Aliyev was scheduled to attend the meeting of CIS countries in Russia.
Footage shared on social media showed the plane burst into flames as it hit the ground and broke into several parts. Dozens of rescuers worked in the crash site to look for the survivors.
The footage taken before the plane crashed, showed panicked passengers and oxygen masks dropped. One of the passengers was seen praying. Another scene from the wreckage showed wounded and terrified passengers emerging from the severed rare of the plane.
