32 survive as passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in Kazakhstan – World

An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed on Wednesday near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 32 survivors had been rescued.

Kazakhstan Airlines flight J2-8243 had deviated hundreds of miles from its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia’s aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may have been caused by a strike with a bird.

Authorities did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the accident occurred shortly after drone attacks hit southern Russia. Drone activity has closed airports in the area in the past and at least one airport was closed Wednesday morning.

Unverified video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames when it hit the seashore, with thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen falling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.

Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that firefighters had extinguished the fire and that survivors, including two children, were being treated at a nearby hospital. The bodies of the dead were being recovered.

Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 plane was flying from Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, but was forced to make an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau in Kazakhstan.

“Preliminary: After a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board, your commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternative airfield; Aktau was chosen,” Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Telegram.

flight route

Aktau is located on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Russia. Commercial aviation tracking websites tracked the flight flying north on its scheduled route along the western sea coast before its flight path was no longer recorded. It then reappeared on the opposite east coast, where it circled near Aktau airport before crashing on the beach.

The trajectory of the ill-fated Kazakhstan Airlines flight J2-8243. — Photo via X/FlightRadar24

Authorities in two Russian regions adjacent to Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, reported drone attacks on Wednesday morning.

An official at Makhachkala airport in Russia, on the eastern Caspian coast, the closest airport to where the flight disappeared from tracking, said Reuters On Wednesday morning it was closed to incoming traffic for several hours. Reuters could not immediately contact officials at Grozny airport.

Kazakh authorities said a government commission had been created to investigate what happened and its members were ordered to fly to the scene and ensure that the families of the dead and injured received the help they needed.

Kazakhstan will cooperate with Azerbaijan in the investigation, the government said.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences as did Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, who had decided to return home from Russia, where he was due to attend a summit on Wednesday, his office said.

Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader, expressed his condolences in a statement and said some of those being treated in the hospital were in extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their speedy recovery.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened” and expressed his deepest condolences to Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan over the incident.

“Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and we wish the injured a speedy recovery. Pakistan stands with Azerbaijan in this time of pain,” Shehbaz said in a statement on X.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *