Several passengers died after a plane carrying 67 people from Baku to Grozny in Chechnya, Russia, was diverted due to fog. About 25 people survived, according to the country’s emergency agency. The Azerbaijan Airlines plane caught fire while attempting an emergency landing near the city of Aktau.
Flight J2-8243 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines was traveling from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. According to reports, fog caused it to be rerouted.
According to footage confirmed by the Reuters news agency, the aircraft is rapidly approaching the ground as its landing gear is down.
Around 28 people survived the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the Kazakh city of Aktau, which carried 62 passengers and five crew members, according to Kazakh authorities.
At a nearby hospital, the survivors—two of whom are thought to be children—were receiving treatment.
Unconfirmed footage of Wednesday’s disaster showed dense black smoke billowing and the jet exploding into flames as it struck the ground. Passengers were observed staggering from a portion of the fuselage that had survived, bloodied and damaged.
After racing to the scene, almost fifty rescuers were able to put out a fire at the crash site.The health ministry reported that a plane was being deployed from Astana, the capital, with specialized doctors to treat the injured, while Kazakh officials later reported that around 150 emergency personnel were on the spot.
Near the city of Aktau, a plane traveling the Baku-Grozny route crashed. On Telegram, Kazakhstan’s transport ministry stated that it is owned by Azerbaijan Airlines.
According to Russian news outlets, the aircraft was redirected due to fog in Grozny, Chechnya, after originally departing Baku.
According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Kazakhstani authorities reported that they had started investigating the incident and considering potential causes like a technical issue.
According to the country’s flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines, the Embraer 190 made an emergency landing just 2 miles (3 km) from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea.
It said there were 62 passengers on the flight. Initial reports indicated the passengers included 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 citizens of Russia, 6 residents of Kazakhstan and 3 people from Kyrgyzstan.
According to the airline, a hotline has been set up for relatives of those on board the flight. The airline claimed there were no children among the passengers, contrary to reports from the scene. It further said, “Information indicates that some survivors are receiving initial medical assistance.”
According to a statement from Russia’s aviation watchdog, initial data indicate the pilot chose to make an emergency landing after the bird hit.
Online, mobile phone footage showed the plane descending rapidly before crashing to the ground in flames.
Other footage showed the plane lying upside down in the grass, with part of the fuselage separated from the wings and the rest of the plane. The film matches the plane’s registration number and colours.
According to flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com, the plane made something like a figure-right turn as it approached Aktau airport, with its altitude fluctuating significantly in the final minutes of the journey.
In a separate online post, FlightRadar24 reported that the plane experienced “intense GPS jamming”, resulting in the transmission of incorrect ADS-B data. This data is necessary for flight-tracking websites to monitor aircraft in real time. Historically, Russia has been accused of disrupting GPS signals across a wide area.