An Embraer passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 individuals whereas 29 survivors acquired hospital therapy, Kazakh authorities mentioned.
Azerbaijan Airways flight J2-8243 had flown lots of of miles off its scheduled path to crash on the alternative shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia’s aviation watchdog mentioned was an emergency which will have been brought on by a fowl strike. However an aviation professional instructed that trigger appeared unlikely.
Officers didn’t instantly clarify why it had crossed the ocean, however the crash got here shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone exercise has shut airports within the space up to now and the closest Russian airport on the airplane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev mentioned in keeping with info he had acquired, the airplane modified course because of poor climate, however he added the reason for the crash was unknown and should be absolutely investigated.
“It is a nice tragedy that has change into an amazing sorrow for the Azerbaijani individuals,” he mentioned.
Video of the crash confirmed the airplane descending quickly earlier than bursting into flames because it hit the seashore, and thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could possibly be seen stumbling from a chunk of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Reuters was capable of confirm from seen landmarks that the video was filmed on the Caspian shore close to Aktau.
Sixty-two passengers and 5 crew had been aboard. The dying toll was disclosed by Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev in a gathering with an Azerbaijani delegation in Aktau, Russian information company Interfax reported.
Kazakhstan’s emergencies ministry mentioned in a press release that fireplace companies had put out the blaze and that the survivors, together with two kids, had been being handled at a close-by hospital. The our bodies of the lifeless had been being recovered.
Azerbaijan Airways mentioned the Embraer 190 jet was flying from Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya area in southern Russia, however had been pressured to make an emergency touchdown round 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau in Kazakhstan.
“Preliminary: after a collision with birds, because of an emergency state of affairs on board, its commander determined to ‘go’ to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen,” Russia’s aviation watchdog mentioned on Telegram.
However a collision with birds usually ends in the airplane touchdown within the nearest out there subject, mentioned Richard Aboulafia, analyst at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory. “You’ll be able to lose management of the airplane, however you do not fly wildly astray as a consequence.”
Aktau is on the alternative shore of the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Russia. Business aviation-tracking web sites tracked the flight flying north on its scheduled route alongside the west coast earlier than its flight path was not recorded. It then reappeared on the east coast, circling close to Aktau airport earlier than crashing into the seaside.
Authorities in two Russian areas adjoining to Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, reported drone strikes on Wednesday morning.
An official at Makhachkala airport in Russia on the west coast of the Caspian, the airport closest to the place the flight disappeared from monitoring, advised Reuters it had been closed to incoming visitors for a number of hours on Wednesday morning. Reuters couldn’t instantly attain officers on the airport in Grozny.
Authorities in Kazakhstan mentioned a authorities fee had been set as much as examine what had occurred and its members ordered to fly to the location and be sure that the households of the lifeless and injured had been getting the assistance they wanted.
Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, the federal government mentioned. Azerbaijan Airways suspended flights from Baku to Russia’s Chechnya area till the investigation is full. Russia’s state TASS information company reported, citing the corporate.
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences. Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, had determined to return dwelling from Russia the place he had been because of attend a summit on Wednesday, his workplace mentioned.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed chief of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a press release and mentioned a few of these being handled in hospital had been in a particularly critical situation and that he and others would pray for his or her fast restoration.
In a press release, planemaker Embraer expressed its condolences and mentioned it might help authorities’ efforts.
