Egypt Daily News – An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan after it deviated from its course, and officials confirmed that 32 people survived the accident. The Kazakh authorities said that the plane crashed near the city of Aktau, which is an oil and gas center on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
The plane was carrying 67 people, including its five-person crew, it is feared that 35 people may have died in the crash. The plane, an Embraer 190, was making a flight from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, to the city of Grozny in the Russian Caucasian Republic of Chechnya.
Following the incident, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and cut short his visit to Russia. He was scheduled to attend an informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which includes a group of countries of the former Soviet Union, his office said in a statement.
The Kazakh Ministry of Transport reported that “a plane that was making a flight from Baku to Grozny crashed near the city of Aktau,” adding that it “belongs to the Azerbaijan Airlines company.” The airline said that the plane “carried out an emergency landing,” about three kilometers away from Aktau. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport explained that among the plane’s passengers were 37 people from Azerbaijan, 6 from Kazakhstan, 3 people from Kyrgyzstan, and 16 from Russia.
The Public Prosecution in Azerbaijan said: “According to available information, 32 people survived the crash,” and added in a statement: “We cannot reveal any results of the investigation at the present time.” “All possible scenarios are being verified, and the necessary specialized analyzes are being conducted.” It noted that “an investigation team led by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan has been sent to Kazakhstan and is working at the crash site.”
The Kazakh Ministry of Emergencies said that its rescue personnel put out a fire that broke out after the plane crash and added that “according to preliminary information, 32 survivors, including two children, were transported to the hospital.” It also explained that 150 rescue personnel were sent to the crash site. .
Additionally it added that a private plane was sent from the Kazakh capital, Astana, carrying specialized doctors to treat the injured. Local medical authorities in Kazakhstan had previously reported that 14 people survived and were taken to hospital.
Black Box Found
The black box of the crashed airplane in Aktau has been found, the Kazinform news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a representative of the Kazakh transport prosecutor’s office.
The press service of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reported that the aircraft changed its course due to bad weather. The accident occurred during landing in Aktau. The head of state emphasized that there are various versions of what happened and urged everyone to wait for the conclusion of the investigation. Among other things, there were reports of a bird strike.
