By DaSHA Litvinova and Katie Marie Davis
Officials say at least 32 passengers survived Wednesday’s crash of an Azerbaijani airplane carrying 67 people close to the Kazakh city of Aktau. There could be over 30 fatalities.
The aircraft was traveling from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, a city in the North Caucasus region of Russia.
Five crew members were among those on board, according to a Telegram post from Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry. According to the ministry, 29 survivors—including two children—have been admitted to hospitals, Russia’s main news agency, RIA Novosti, said.
On Wednesday, December 25, 2024, the wreckage of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground close to the Aktau, Kazakhstan, airport. (Photo by Azmat Sarsenbayev/AP)AP
Emergency personnel at the scene reported that both pilots, based on an initial assessment, perished in the crash, while medical personnel reported that four bodies had been found, according to another Russian news agency, Interfax.
Three kilometers outside the city, the Embraer 190 aircraft made an emergency landing, according to an earlier statement from Azerbaijan Airlines.
The Emergency Ministry of Kazakhstan first reported that 25 people had survived the crash, but as search and rescue efforts at the crash site proceeded, the death toll was reduced to 29.
At least 32 individuals survived the crash, according to a later report from the Azerbaijani prosecutor general’s office, however the exact number was not yet confirmed. Some of them were in serious condition, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan.
Given the amount of survivors, it’s possible that over 30 individuals have died.
Kazakhstani officials reported that 42 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 citizens of Russia, 6 inhabitants of Kazakhstan, and 3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan were on board the aircraft.
The debris of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 is seen on the ground close to the Aktau airport in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, in this image from a video that the Mangystau region’s administration provided. (The Mangystau Region Administration through AP)AP
According to preliminary information, the pilot decided to divert to Kazakhstan’s Aktau after a bird hit on the aircraft caused an emergency situation on board, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, which was quoted by RIA Novosti.
Online, mobile phone footage seems to show the plane descending sharply before crashing into the ground in a flame. Other footage showed the plane laying upside down in the grass with a portion of its fuselage torn away from the wings and the remainder of the aircraft. The video matched the plane’s registration number and colors.
Videos of survivors pulling other passengers away from the plane wreckage were shared on social media.
According to flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft made what looked like a figure-right as it got closer to the Aktau airport, with its altitude fluctuating significantly in the final minutes of the flight before colliding with the ground.
In a separate online article, FlightRadar24 said that the aircraft had experienced severe GPS jamming, which caused it to transmit faulty ADS-B data—the data that enables flight-tracking websites to track airplanes while they are in flight. In the past, Russia has been held accountable for interfering with GPS signals in the surrounding area.
Azerbaijan Airlines altered its social media banners to solid black and promised to keep the public informed in a statement.
More in Nation-World News
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!