Three of the five crew members of the airplane that went down in Aktau survived

Of the five crew members of the airplane that fell near Aktau, three survived. This was reported December 25 by Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev.

He specified that there were 67 people on board, 62 of whom were passengers. Of the total number of people 38 people died, survived - 29.

"The crew of the airplane was five people: two died, three survived," - quotes his words agency Kazinform.

Tragedy in Aktau: Baku-Grozny passenger plane crashed

A fire started at the scene and there are survivors

A passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), traveling on the Baku-Grozny route, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau earlier in the day. The crew attempted to make an emergency landing at the city's airport, but the plane went down and caught fire. Preliminarily, the cause of the plane's fall could have been a collision with a flock of birds.

The passenger list of AZAL includes 62 passengers and five crew members. According to the latest data, nine Russians were hospitalized. Special aircraft of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation will deliver to Moscow the citizens of the Russian Federation, injured in the crash, on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In turn, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev came to the victims of the plane crash.

A criminal case was initiated under the article "Violation of safety rules in the operation of vehicles, causing the death of two or more persons by negligence". Search and rescue operations continue at the site of the tragedy. Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala until the investigation is completed. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared December 26 a day of mourning in the republic for the victims of the plane crash.