Russia-bound airliner crashes in ex-Soviet state (VIDEO)
A Russia-bound passenger plane carrying 67 people, including 62 passengers and five crew members, has crashed on Wednesday morning near the city of Aktau on Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea coast.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Chechnya when the incident occurred.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations said that 28 people, including two minors aged 11 and 16, survived the crash. Twenty-two survivors have been hospitalized with injuries, its statement added. Emergency services continue to work at the scene, with more than 150 first responders deployed.
Preliminary investigations indicate that a bird strike caused the crash. According to Kazakhstan's Department of Health, an oxygen cylinder exploded on board after the bird strike, injuring 14 people, including two children, and causing passengers to lose consciousness. The explosion reportedly occurred after the aircraft's engine malfunctioned.
Rosaviatsia, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, has issued an official statement on the incident:
”Today, at about 09:30 Moscow time, near the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, while approaching Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan, an Embraer 190 aircraft of the Azerbaijani airline AZAL collided with the ground. Preliminary information suggests that following a bird strike, the aircraft commander declared an emergency and diverted to Aktau as a backup airfield. Emergency services in Kazakhstan are conducting search and rescue operations. Rosaviatsia is in contact with AZAL, and aviation authorities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.”
Video footage shared online shows the plane descending sharply before hitting the ground in a fireball. Tengrinews.kz reported that the aircraft sent an emergency signal before the crash. Initial reports also suggest thick fog in Grozny prevented the plane from landing there, prompting the diversion to Aktau.
The Kazakh Ministry of Transport has confirmed that Aktau Airport is operating normally. Among the passengers, it said, were 37 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals, Kommersant is reporting.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the crash, with technical malfunctions also being considered as a contributing factor.
