Dozens of people are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
The passenger jet was en route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia. The plane went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after being diverted due to fog.
There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board the plane, Kazakhstan’s transport ministry said.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, flight number J2-8243, made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers [1.8 miles] from Aktau, the plane’s operator said.
Kazakhstan’s emergency ministry said that preliminary reports showed there were a number of survivors from the crash.
Survivors are being treated at a nearby hospital, but information about their injuries remains unclear.
Unverified footage shared on social media shows what appears to be the moment the plane crashed into a field and burst into flames in Aktau, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
New video shows plane carrying 72 people crashing near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. At least 10 survivors pic.twitter.com/SKGdc1vqFa
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 25, 2024
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that 37 Azerbaijani citizens were