Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crashes in Kazakhstan with Russian Passengers on Board

On the morning of December 25, a passenger plane, an Embraer-190 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, crashed at Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. The flight was traveling from Baku to Grozny. There have been reports of both fatalities and survivors.

Preliminary reports indicate that there were 67 people aboard the aircraft, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. Among the passengers, 16 were Russian, 37 were Azerbaijani, 6 were Kazakh, and 3 were Kyrgyz.

According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, 52 emergency responders, 11 vehicles, and 14 ambulance teams were sent to the crash site.

Of the survivors, 25 people were taken to hospitals. All of them were seated in the rear section of the plane, which likely contributed to their survival. Children are among the injured.

The country’s Ministry of Health has reported that at least six individuals are in intensive care in critical condition.

It is known that shortly before the crash, the crew sent out an emergency signal due to a bird strike. Afterward, the plane circled in the sky over Kazakhstan for some time before attempting an emergency landing approximately three kilometers from Aktau. The aircraft then disappeared from radar. The exact number of casualties is still being confirmed.