At Least 42 Passengers Killed As Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crashes in Kazakhstan, Video Of Crash Surfaces

At least 42 people are likely dead after a plane crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, AP reported. Initial reports suggested there were survivors. As per a report in news agency AP, Kazakhstan’s emergency ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement that the plane was carrying 67 people, including five crew.

It added that 25 of them have survived the crash, according to preliminary assessment, and 22 survivors have been hospitalised. As many as 37 passengers on the plane were from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, six from Kazakhstan and three from Kyrgyzstan.

Russian news agencies said the plane was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines and had been flying from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya, but had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny. There was no immediate comment from Azerbaijan Airlines. Videos circulating on social media showed the plane bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising.