An Azerbaijan Airlines plane carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25, killing at least 38 people, according to Kazakhstan authorities.
In a large-scale rescue operation, 29 survivors, including two children, were pulled out of the rubble, said Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev. Of these, 11 are in critical condition.
According to CNN, Azerbaijan Airlines' J2-8243 flight departed from Azerbaijan's Baku capital to Grozny, Russia's Chechnya region, and had to make an emergency landing about 3 km from Aktau.
Images from the scene recorded the victims dizzyly escaping from the burned-out plane. All survivors were taken to the hospital and none of them were Kazakhstan citizens, Bozumbayev said.
The bodies of most of the victims were burned, and were collected and taken to the morgue for identification. Currently, only one survivor has been identified. This person is unconscious, has no papers and is being treated at the hospital.
Found the black box
The search team found the plane's black box, according to Azerbaijan's state news agency AZERTAC. The Kazakhstan government has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the crash and provide support to the families of the passengers. The agency also said it will coordinate with Azerbaijan during the investigation.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations said that when rescue teams arrived, the plane was on fire and rescue forces extinguished the fire.
Video of the crash shows the plane moving unstably around the airport before crashing. When it hit the ground, the plane caught fire, and immediately after that, bloody passengers emerged from the rubble.
A witness who participated in the rescue said the heartbreaking scene made her cry. The front of the plane was on fire. We are saving survivors. They were covered in blood and cried for help, Elmira shared.
Elmira said that there were all ages among the survivors, from men, women to teenagers and a little girl.
Opening the investigation
According to the Russian aviation watchdog, initial information shows that the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after the plane crashed into a bird. However, the reason why the plane flew overseas is not yet clear.
Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry said there were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board. Of these, 37 were Azerbaijani citizens, 6 were Kazakhstanis, 3 were Kyrgyz and 16 were Russian.
Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala until the investigation is completed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences and said a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry plane was flying to Kazakhstan for medical assistance. Hopefully the injured will recover soon, and of course, a thorough investigation will be conducted, Putin said.
