LONDON — An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport near the Caspian Sea on Wednesday morning, killing 39 people, Kazakh authorities said.
The plane was flying from Baku to Grozny, Azerbaijan, Russia, according to a statement posted by the Ministry of Transport on its official Telegram channel. They were diverted to Aktau in Kazakhstan due to the fog in Grozny, Russian news agencies reported.
“According to the first information provided by Azerbaijan, there were 62 passengers and five crew on board,” said the Ministry of Transport.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a message sent to Telegram that 28 people survived the crash, with many hospitalized. Among those hospitalized were two children, the Ministry reported.
A drone view shows the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024.
Azamat Sarsenbayev/Reuters
Kazakhstan’s deputy health minister told ABC News that some of those taken to hospital are in critical condition.
Kazakh authorities have launched an investigation into the crash, focusing on bird strike, mechanical failure and the decision to divert the flight due to poor weather conditions, Kazakh aviation officials told ABC News.
Among the passengers were 37 Azerbaijani nationals, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, the Transport Ministry said, citing “preliminary data”.
Azerbaijan Airlines said in a message to Xi that the plane made an “emergency landing” about 2 miles from Aktau. The aircraft was an Embraer 190 with flight number J2-8243
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Tomek Rolski and Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report.
