Aliyev declares December 26 a day of mourning for those killed in plane crash in Aktau

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has appointed December 26 a day of mourning in the republic for those killed in the plane crash of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane flying from Baku to Grozny and crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. This was reported by Azerbaijan's Azertaj News Agency.

It is specified that Aliyev signed the relevant decree.

Tragedy in Aktau: Baku-Grozny passenger plane crashed

A fire started at the scene and there are survivors

A passenger plane of AZAL Airlines, heading on the route Baku - Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. After the crash the plane caught fire, the fire was extinguished. Preliminary, the cause of the fall of the airplane could be a collision with a flock of birds. After the crash, a criminal case was opened under the article "Violation of safety rules in the operation of vehicles, causing the death of two or more persons by negligence".

AZAL later released a list of 62 passengers of the crashed airplane. Thirty-two survivors have been found and hospitalized. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) told Izvestia that there were no organized groups of Russian tourists on board the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft. The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan reported that 16 Russians were on the plane. According to the Russian Embassy in the republic, 10 of them survived, they were taken to hospitals.

The founder of RunAvia flight safety service Andrei Patrakov told Izvestia that a possible reason for the rescue of many passengers could be the separation of the tail of the plane - it allowed to avoid a strong explosion.

Against the background of the incident, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev interrupted his visit to Russia and returned to Baku. There he immediately held a meeting on issues related to the plane crash.