Dozens Killed As Passenger Plane Crashes In Kazakhstan
By Juliet Vincent
Dozens of people have died after a passenger plane crashed with about 70 people on board in Kazakhstan, local officials say.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, where the flight originated, say there were at least 30 survivors.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 caught fire as it attempted to make an emergency landing near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
The plane was en route to Grozny in Russia but it was diverted due to fog, the airline told the BBC.
Footage shows the aircraft heading towards the ground at high speed with its landing gear down, before bursting into flames as it lands.
The airline said the plane “made an emergency landing” about 3km (1.9 miles) from Aktau.
It took off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku at 03:55 GMT on Wednesday, and crashed around 06:28, data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed.
Reports from Russian media say the aircraft collided with a flock of birds before crashing, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Officials from the countries involved have stated different numbers for those who were on board and for those who survived.
The airline said 62 passengers and 5 crew members were on board the Embraer 190 but other reports put the total at 72. The reported number of survivors ranges from 28 to 32.
Those on board were mostly Azerbaijani nationals, but there were also some passengers from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Unverified video footage showed survivors crawling out of the wreckage, some with visible injuries.
Both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have launched investigations into the accident. Embraer told the BBC it was “ready to assist all relevant authorities”.
The BBC has contacted Azerbaijan Airlines for comment.
Embraer, a Brazilian manufacturer, is a smaller rival to Boeing and Airbus, and has a strong safety record. (BBC)
