Azerbaijan Airlines plane with 69 onboard crashes in Kazakhstan, over 30 survivors reported

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• Azerbaijani government sources say Russian missile likely downed passenger plane, media reports

Update: Azerbaijan authorities report that 32 people survived the crash.

A passenger plane traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya crashed Wednesday morning near Aktau in western Kazakhstan. At least 29 people survived the crash, according to Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Ministry. The plane, an Embraer 190 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was carrying 64 passengers and five crew members, according to Kazakhstan’s Transport Ministry. Among those onboard were citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Azerbaijani Press Agency reported that the aircraft issued a distress signal over the Caspian Sea before diverting to Kazakhstan for an emergency landing. Both Azerbaijan Airlines and Russian aviation authorities attributed the crash to a bird strike.

Emergency workers at the site of the plane crash. December 25, 2024.

Eyewitnesses told Orda.kz that an oxygen cylinder exploded onboard following the impact, after which passengers began losing consciousness. The plane ultimately crashed into a field near Aktau Airport. Flightradar24 data shows the aircraft was circling the airport before the crash.

Footage of the crash shows the plane descending at a steep angle before hitting the ground and exploding. Videos from the aftermath show survivors at the crash site.

The plane was initially unable to land in Grozny due to heavy fog and was redirected to Makhachkala before ultimately being sent across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, Grozny Airport’s press service told RIA Novosti.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his condolences on Telegram following the plane crash and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow extends its deepest sympathies to those who lost loved ones in the Aktau crash and wishes the injured a swift recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to convey his condolences.

In response to the crash, Ilham Aliyev has decided to leave the CIS summit in Russia and return to Baku, according to his press service.

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