Dozens of passengers are feared dead after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed nearby the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan Wednesday, reports say.
There were 62 passengers and five crew on board the Embraer 190 passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia, Kazakh authorities said, adding that 32 survivors were rescued.
Flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off course to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. Officials did not immediately explain why he crossed the sea, but the accident happened shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has previously closed airports in the region and the Russian airport closest to the plane's flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
The Russian aviation watchdog, meanwhile, said it was an emergency that could have been caused by a bird strike.
More than 30 dead in a bus and truck accident in Brazil
Among those on board the plane were 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhstani citizens and three Kyrgyzstani, according to Kazakhstani officials.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that both pilots died in the crash, citing a preliminary assessment by emergency workers at the scene. The news agency also quoted medical personnel as saying that four bodies have been recovered from the accident so far.
29 survivors, including two children, have been hospitalized, the ministry told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, the Associated Press reported. Many passengers are still to be accounted for.
Malaysia Agrees to 'No Find, No Charge' Hunt for Flight M370, 10 Years After Plane Disappeared
Video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames as it hit the shore, followed by thick black smoke, Reuters reported. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a section of the fuselage that was still intact.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been traveling to Russia, returned to Azerbaijan after hearing news of the accident, the presidential press service said. Aliyev was to attend an informal meeting of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of Soviet countries formed after the fall of the Soviet Union, in St.
Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media.
“It is with great sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured,” he wrote.
He also signed a decree declaring December 26, a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep the public updated and would change its social media banners to solid black.
“We ask God to grant mercy to the passengers and crew members who lost their lives,” translation said the statement on X. “The pain is ours. We wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original article source: An Azerbaijan Airlines plane to Russia crashed hundreds of miles off course, and dozens are feared dead
