An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, leaving at least 32 survivors, officials reported. The accident occurred during a flight from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia.
Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry confirmed the Embraer 190 aircraft made an emergency landing approximately three kilometers from Aktau. The crash resulted in significant casualties, with more than 30 feared dead.
Authorities reported 29 survivors hospitalized, including two children. Four bodies have been recovered, according to Russian news agency Interfax, which also noted that both pilots were believed to have died.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan later stated that 32 people survived, with some in critical condition. However, the exact number of fatalities remains unclear.
Passengers onboard included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals, according to officials.
Preliminary reports indicated that a bird strike caused “an emergency situation on board,” leading the pilot to divert to Aktau, Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said. Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed erratic altitude changes before the aircraft crashed.
Videos circulating online appeared to show the plane descending steeply before bursting into flames upon impact. Other footage revealed the wreckage, with parts of the fuselage separated and lying upside down. Survivors were seen pulling injured passengers away from the debris.
FlightRadar24 noted “strong GPS jamming” during the flight, which may have affected navigation systems. Such disruptions have previously been reported in the region.
Azerbaijan Airlines changed its social media banners to black and pledged to provide updates. An official delegation, including Azerbaijan’s emergency situations minister, deputy general prosecutor, and a senior airline executive, traveled to the crash site for an investigation.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev returned to Baku upon hearing the news, canceling plans to attend a Commonwealth of Independent States meeting in Russia. He expressed condolences to victims’ families, saying, “It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to Aliyev and announced that Russia’s Emergency Ministry sent equipment and medical teams to Kazakhstan.
Authorities from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia are jointly investigating the crash. Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, said it is ready to support all relevant authorities in the inquiry.
