Aktau [Kazakhstan]: The death toll has risen to 38 following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near Kazakhstan’s Aktau city on Wednesday, according to reports from Al Jazeera.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, carrying 62 passengers and five crew members, was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, a Russian city in the North Caucasus. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing approximately three kilometers from Aktau.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev confirmed the grim toll, stating, “The situation is not very good, 38 dead,” as quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general’s office reported that 32 of the 67 individuals on board survived. “We cannot disclose any investigation results at this time. All possible scenarios are being examined, and the necessary expert analyses are underway,” it said in a statement.
Azerbaijan Airlines has temporarily suspended all flights from Baku to Russia’s Chechnya region until the investigation is concluded, Al Jazeera reported, citing Russian state news agency TASS.
Preliminary information from Russia’s aviation watchdog suggested the crash may have been caused by a bird strike, prompting the pilots to attempt an emergency landing. Heavy fog in Grozny reportedly forced the plane to request an alternate landing site before the accident.
Passengers on the ill-fated flight included citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Authorities have established a hotline for the families of passengers. Kazakhstan’s government has formed a commission to investigate the crash, with its members dispatched to the site to assist affected families.