One of the survivors of the Aktau crash wanted to surprise his family with his arrival

One of the survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash in Aktau was flying to Grozny to surprise his family. The passenger's nephew told journalists about it on December 25, Izvestiya correspondent reports.

According to the young man named Bilal, the condition of his relative is assessed as stable, not serious.

"He was flying alone, he was flying home. He went there (to Azerbaijan. - Ed.) for work. He was returning home from work, he was on a business trip. No one knew [that he was coming home] except me and my older brother. <...> I wanted to come with a surprise, but it was an unfortunate surprise," Bilal said.

The man got in touch with his nephews through EMERCOM officials and representatives of the Chechen Republic working on the ground with the victims.

"The family reacted with tears, but we are already glad he is alive. We could not find words. Like all people we stood, waiting for information," the young man shared.

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 accident with 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 aircraft. According to the latest data, 32 people survived and were 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. At the same time, the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan said that 16 Russians were on the plane. The Russian Embassy in the republic reported that 10 of them survived, they were taken to hospitals. Russian diplomats were sent to Aktau to help them.

Andrei Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia flight safety service, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that a possible reason for the rescue of many of the passengers was the separation of the tail - it allowed to avoid a strong explosion, which would have caused an increase in the number of deaths.

Against the background of the incident, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his visit to Russia, returned to Baku and held a meeting. He declared December 26 a day of mourning for the victims of the plane crash in the republic.