At least 29 people survived in Kazakhstan this Wednesday, according to authorities, while rescue teams are searching for dozens of other passengers who are feared dead.
A video of the accident recorded the moment the stunned survivors emerged from the destroyed plane, which was carrying 67 people on board.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was traveling from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in the Russian region of Chechnya, before making an emergency landing about three kilometers from Aktau, the carrier said.
Two of the 29 survivors are children, authorities said, adding that they were all taken to a nearby hospital.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, its rescue and rescue teams found the plane in flames upon arrival at the scene, and rescue units extinguished the fire.
Videos of the accident show the plane making erratic turns around the airfield before crashing. Upon hitting the ground, the plane caught fire, with some passengers emerging from the wreckage shortly afterwards.
In a statement, the Russian aviation surveillance body points out that preliminary information suggests that the pilot had decided to make an emergency landing following a collision with a bird.
The plane had 62 passengers and five crew members on board, the Kazakh Ministry of Transport said in a preliminary report. According to data already released, 37 of the passengers were citizens of Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia.
“Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public,” the airline stated on social media.
The Kazakh government created a commission to investigate the causes of the accident.
“The Commission has been instructed to immediately go to the scene of the accident, ensure a thorough investigation into the causes of the accident and take measures to provide priority assistance to the families of those killed and injured,” a government statement said.
Kazakhstan will cooperate with Azerbaijan in the investigation, he added.
