ASTANA: Azerbaijan is observing a national day of mourning on Thursday after a flagship airliner crashed in western Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
The Embraer 190 was supposed to fly northwest from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted over the Caspian Sea. It crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday.
Azerbaijan Airlines reported that 67 people were on board the jet – 62 passengers and five crew members.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozambayev told Russia Interfax According to the news agency, 38 people have been killed, while the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry said “29 survivors, including three children, have been hospitalized”.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared a day of mourning on Thursday and canceled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a group of former Soviet states.
Aliyev’s office said the president “ordered the initiation of immediate measures to investigate the causes of the catastrophe”.
“I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident… and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Aliyev said in a social media post.
The FlightRadar website showed the plane diverging from its normal course, crossing the Caspian Sea and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed near the oil and gas hub of Aktau on the eastern coast of the sea. .
Official news agency of Azerbaijan AZERTAC The plane’s black box, which records the flight data, has been recovered, said.
The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan said that 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, six of Kazakhstan, three of Kyrgyzstan and 16 of Russia were on board the plane.
Azerbaijan Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, said the plane made an “emergency landing” about three kilometers (1.9 miles) from Aktau.
Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said its crews extinguished the fire that broke out after the plane crashed.
He said 150 emergency workers were on the scene.
Kazakhstan said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, which was not immediately clear.
Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane passed through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement.
“We cannot disclose any investigative findings at this time,” Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.
“All possible scenarios are being examined, and necessary expert analyzes are underway,” it added.
It said that an investigative team led by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan has been dispatched to Kazakhstan and is on the scene of the accident. is working
A Kazakh woman told the local branch Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) That she was close to the place where the plane crashed and rushed to the scene to help the survivors.
“They were covered in blood. They were crying. They were crying for help,” said the woman, who gave her name as Elmira.
He said they rescued some youths.
“I will never forget the look on his face of pain and despair,” said Elmira. “One girl pleaded: ‘Save my mother, my mother is back’.
The Ministry of Health said that a special flight with specialist doctors is being sent from Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to treat the injured.