32 survivors pulled from Azerbaijani jet crash in Kazakhstan
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The plane had 62 passengers and five crew members on board and made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from Aktau.
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Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet with 67 people on board crashed in western Kazakhstan on Wednesday after straying from its planned route.
Azerbaijani authorities confirmed that 32 people survived the crash of the Embraer 190, which occurred near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore.
The flight was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital on the Caspian's western shore, to Grozny, Russia.
The Kazakh transport ministry stated on Telegram, "A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines."
The plane had 62 passengers and five crew members on board and made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from Aktau, said Azerbaijan Airlines, the country's flag carrier.
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Following the incident, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev canceled his planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The Kazakh transport ministry reported that the passengers included 37 Azerbaijanis, six Kazakhs, three Kyrgyzstani nationals, and 16 Russians.
Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general’s office confirmed that "32 people survived the crash," but added that "we cannot disclose any investigation results at this time. All possible scenarios are being examined, and the necessary expert analyses are underway."
It added that an investigative team, led by Azerbaijan’s deputy prosecutor general, has been dispatched to Kazakhstan to work at the crash site.
Kazakhstan’s emergency situations ministry reported that its teams extinguished a fire caused by the crash. It also said that 28 survivors, including two children, were hospitalized, with 150 emergency workers present at the scene.
A special flight with specialist doctors from the Kazakh capital Astana was also dispatched to assist the injured, Kazakhstan’s health ministry said.
It is worth noting that flight tracking data showed the plane deviating from its normal route over the Caspian Sea before circling the area where it ultimately crashed. Kazakhstan has launched an investigation into the incident.
