Kathmandu – A passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed on Wednesday near Aktau in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The Embraer 190, with registration number J2-8243, crashed near Aktau Airport. There were 67 people on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. Of those, 28 people were successfully rescued, the Ministry reported. Kazakh news sources identified the passengers as 37 from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan, and 3 from Kyrgyzstan.
A bird strike has been identified as the initial cause of the crash. The Ministry of Emergency Situations dispatched 52 personnel along with 11 pieces of equipment to respond to the incident when the plane caught fire. According to the aircraft’s configuration, the Embraer 190 is designed to carry between 96 and 114 passengers, with a flight range of up to 4,500 kilometers.
Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that the plane took off 15 minutes ahead of schedule from Baku. The aircraft declared an emergency while flying over the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijani media outlets stated that fog prevented the plane from receiving landing instructions in Grozny, prompting a diversion to Makhachkala and eventually to Aktau.