Passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan. Main

Updated at 20:41 Moscow time

On Wednesday, December 25, a passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines on the Baku-Grozny route crashed near Aktau city. According to preliminary data, the cause of the crash could have been a collision with a flock of birds. At the moment it is known about 29 survivors. Read more about the incident in the material "Izvestia".

The crash of an airplane in Kazakhstan - what happened

About the crash of the passenger plane became known in the morning of December 25. Earlier, the plane gave an emergency signal. As reported in the Telegram-channel of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, after the fall the ship caught fire. At the scene of the accident were sent 52 specialists and 11 units of equipment. An operational headquarters was formed in the command center of the agency.

In the Network also appeared footage of the moment of the fall of the plane Baku - Grozny. They show the ship rapidly descending and catching fire, hitting the ground. Black clouds of smoke are rising above the crash site. According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, the fire was completely eliminated.

According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transportation, 67 passengers and five crew members were on board the downed plane.

On the evening of December 25, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said that 38 people were killed in the plane crash.

According to Interfax with reference to the operational headquarters at the crash site, the plane, flying from Baku to Grozny, gave a distress signal due to the failure of the control system and requested an emergency landing in Aktau. The crew tried to conduct it in manual mode, but 40 minutes later the plane collided with the ground. Operational services continue to work at the crash site.

A criminal case has been opened on the fact of the crash of a passenger airplane in Aktau. The Department of Police on Transport has launched a pre-trial investigation under the article "Violation of safety rules in the operation of vehicles, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence".

In the operational headquarters at the scene reported that at the scene of the crash was found speech black box (flight recorder), suitable for decoding.

Airplane crash in Kazakhstan - survivors and victims

As reported in the Telegram-channel of the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, 29 people were taken to medical institutions after the plane crash in Aktau. They are in varying degrees of severity. All the injured are being treated, 23 ambulance crews are working at the crash site. Also from Astana it is planned to fly a board of sanitary aviation with surgeons and traumatologists on board.

According to the latest data, 29 people survived after the crash. Three of the five crew members of the airplane survived. Of the Russians on board, seven people died, nine survived and were hospitalized.

Preliminary, 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, six citizens of Kazakhstan, three citizens of Kyrgyzstan and 16 citizens of Russia were in the plane at the time of the crash. At the same time, as specified in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), there were no organized tourists from the Russian Federation on the ship, at least those who are clients of Russian tour operators - members of ATOR.

Airplane crash in Kazakhstan - reaction of officials

Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to form a state commission in connection with the airplane crash in Aktau. He also instructed to send doctors from Astana to the crash site and provide the victims with all the necessary assistance.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev interrupted his visit to Russia and returned to Baku after the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The head of state took personal control over issues related to the airplane crash. He also declared December 26 a day of mourning for the victims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart in connection with the crash of the plane Baku-Grozny. During the informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), he also announced that a plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry with medical personnel and necessary equipment on board had flown to Aktau.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan is in contact with the authorities of the country to provide assistance to the victims. The diplomat added that relatives of the victims of the disaster can contact the hotline of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic.

Tragedy in Aktau: Baku-Grozny passenger plane crashed

A fire started at the scene and there are survivors

Rosaviatsia representative Artem Korenyako also said that contacts with Azerbaijan Airlines and Kazakhstani authorities on the crash of the passenger plane were maintained. According to him, the craft collided with a flock of birds, after which the commander decided to land at an alternate airfield in Aktau.

The head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov in his Telegram channel expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims in connection with the airplane crash in Aktau.

Airplane crash in Kazakhstan - comments of relatives of survivors

The uncle of the passenger who survived the plane crash in Aktau told Izvestia that the ill-fated flight from Baku to Grozny was the first for his nephew. According to the man, he invited his relative to visit him for two weeks. Before that, the 21-year-old young man had never been to Russia.

"He himself is in shock, he does not know what was, what happened. The first time he flew in an airplane," shared the interlocutor.

The man has already managed to contact his nephew. The young man said that he was fine, he and the other survivors are in the hotel, from where they will later organize a transfer. Despite what happened, he still wants to visit his uncle.

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The wife of another passenger of the Baku-Grozny flight told Izvestia that her husband was saved by the successful location of the seat in the cabin and fastened seat belt.

"He said that he, first of all, was in the tail section. Those who were in the tail section all survived, apparently. And he was buckled up. He said it saved him," the woman reported.

The interlocutor added that she has already contacted the spouse. The man has a scratch on his face, now he is in the hospital.

The mother of another survivor told Izvestia that her daughter was hospitalized in serious condition. The girl flew to Grozny for work and was supposed to return on December 27. She is now in the neurosurgery department.