Aircraft crash in Kazakhstan killed dozens, however practically half of these on board survived, officers say

Moscow — An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 individuals on board crashed Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, close to town of Aktau, killing 38 individuals and leaving 29 survivors, a Kazakh official mentioned.

Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev disclosed the figures whereas assembly with Azerbaijani officers, the Russian information company Interfax reported. 

Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry mentioned in a Telegram assertion that these on board included 5 crew members. Interfax quoted emergency staff on the scene as saying a preliminary evaluation confirmed each pilots died within the crash.

The Embraer 190 plane tried to make an emergency touchdown roughly two miles from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airways mentioned. A spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Air Transport Company mentioned preliminary info confirmed the pilot had chosen to divert to Aktau after a hen strike led to “an emergency state of affairs on board.”

Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry initially mentioned 25 individuals survived the crash, later revising that quantity to 27, 28 after which 29 because the search and rescue operation continued on the website of the crash, bringing the obvious demise toll down.

The Prosecutor Common’s Workplace in Azerbaijan reported earlier that no less than 32 individuals had survived the crash, however mentioned the quantity wasn’t last.

In keeping with Kazakh officers, these aboard the aircraft included 42 Azerbaijani residents, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals. 

The aircraft was initially scheduled to journey from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny within the North Caucasus. Russian information businesses mentioned the aircraft had been rerouted as a result of fog in Grozny, Reuters reported.

Interfax reported that Kazakh authorities mentioned they’d began probing attainable causes of the crash, together with a technical drawback, in line with Reuters.  

Cell phone footage circulating on-line appeared to point out the plane making a steep descent earlier than smashing into the bottom in a fireball. Crews put out the blaze on the website, the emergency ministry mentioned.

Different footage confirmed a part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the remainder of the plane mendacity upside within the grass. The footage corresponded to the aircraft’s colours and its registration quantity.

A number of the movies posted on social media confirmed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the aircraft’s wreckage.

Unverified video confirmed individuals stumbling from a chunk of the fuselage that remained intact, Reuters reported. 

Flight-tracking information from FlightRadar24.com confirmed the plane making what seemed to be a figure-right because it neared the airport in Aktau, its altitude shifting up and down considerably over the past minutes of the flight earlier than impacting the bottom.

FlightRadar24 individually mentioned in an internet submit that the plane had confronted “sturdy GPS jamming” which ” made the plane transmit unhealthy ADS-B information,” referring to the data that allows flight-tracking web sites to observe planes in flight. Russia has been blamed previously for jamming GPS transmissions within the wider area.

Embraer did not instantly reply to a request for remark early Wednesday morning. In a press release, Azerbaijan Airways mentioned it will maintain members of the general public up to date and altered its social media banners to stable black.