Astana, Kazakhstan
CNN
—
An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed in southwestern Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing at least 38 people on board, Kazakh authorities said.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozunbayev announced that a massive rescue operation had pulled 29 survivors, including two children, from the wreckage near the city of Aktau, adding that 11 people were in critical condition.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in the Russian territory of Chechnya when it made an emergency landing about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, the airline said.
Video from the crash scene captured the moment dazed survivors emerged from the charred plane. Kazakh authorities earlier announced that all survivors were taken to hospital.
“The bodies were in poor condition, most of them were burnt, and they were all recovered,” Bozumbayev said. “Their bodies will now be placed in the morgue and identification will take place.”
Bozbayev said there was only one survivor, whose identity remains unknown. “She is unconscious, undocumented and in the hospital,” he added.
A search team found the plane’s black box, and the Kazakh government set up a committee to investigate the cause of the crash and support the families of the passengers, Azerbaijan’s state news agency AZERTAC reported. The government announced that it would cooperate with Azerbaijan’s investigation.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said its team found the aircraft on fire upon arriving at the scene, and rescue forces extinguished the fire upon arrival.
Video of the crash showed the Embraer 190 plane circling unsteadily around the airfield before crashing. The plane burst into flames as it hit the ground, and a bloody passenger emerged from the wreckage moments later.
A woman who took part in the rescue operation told Radio Free Europe’s Kazakhstan Service that she was moved to tears after witnessing the horrific scene.
“The front part of the plane was on fire. We rescued the survivors. Their bodies were covered in blood. They were crying. Everyone was calling for help.” said Elmira, who only gave her first name.
Elmira said survivors were of all ages, including men, women, teenagers and small children.
“A little girl came out. She looked at me and said, ‘Help mom, she’s still there.’ “She was crying and begging, ‘Please help me, please help me,'” she said.
Elmira said she took a bus to the accident site and she and other volunteers ushered survivors onto the bus “to keep people from freezing.”
“It was cold outside. No one was wearing jackets, just light sweaters. We kept them on the bus until the ambulance arrived,” she said. .
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport said in a preliminary report that there were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. According to preliminary data, 37 of the passengers were Azerbaijani nationals, 16 Russians, six Kazakhstans and three Kyrgyzstans. Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozunbayev said there were no Kazakhs among the survivors.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his visit to Russia following the incident, Kazakhstan’s state news agency said.
According to Azerbaijani state media, Aliyev’s government has declared December 26 a national day of mourning.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggests the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after colliding with a bird.
Officials did not immediately explain why the plane crossed the ocean, but the crash came shortly after drone attacks hit southern Russia. Drone activity has previously closed airports in the region, and the nearest Russian airport in the plane’s flight path was also closed on Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be a mistake to speculate on the cause of the plane crash before an investigation is conducted, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer said in a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation and “remains fully committed to supporting the relevant authorities.”
According to Azerbaijan Airlines, the plane passed a complete technical inspection in October this year, Kazakhstan state news agency reported.
Kazakhstan’s traffic police department has opened a pretrial investigation based on a section of the criminal code for “violating safety regulations while driving a vehicle, resulting in the accidental death of two or more people,” state news agency Kazinform reported. Reported. Reported.
According to AZERTAC, the pilot has extensive experience and has flown more than 15,000 hours.
According to the Kazinform report, Bozunbayev said it was impossible to determine “even a preliminary cause” but that experts were investigating.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan Airlines said it had suspended flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala, Dagestan’s largest city, until the investigation into the crash was completed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to those involved in the crash and said a Russian Emergencies Ministry plane carrying medical personnel and equipment was flying to Kazakhstan to assist.
“Let us wish the injured a speedy recovery. Of course, we are confident that a thorough investigation will be carried out. We will coordinate the activities of special forces and aviation forces on all matters related to this tragedy. ” he said at the Commonwealth of Independent States Summit.
This story has been updated. CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova, Viktoria Butenko, Lukas Liljeholm and Edward Székeres contributed reporting.
