In the early hours of the morning on the 25th of December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight on the way to Russia met with a crash near Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport. The plane was carrying 67 individuals as the tragic crash took the lives of 42 people onboard. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, over the shocking loss of life.
The Azerbaijan flight was an Embraer 190 aircraft, operating flight J2-8243, which was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia when it crashed approximately 3 kilometers from the airport. The flight was boarded by a total of 67 people which included 62 passengers and 5 crew members out of which 42 survived the fatal crash five of whom got hold of critical injuries who were immediately moved to local hospitals for treatment.
“Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev was forced to leave St Petersburg (where he had a summit). Putin has already called him and expressed his condolences in connection with the crash of the Azerbaijani plane in Aktau. We deeply sympathize with those who lost their relatives and friends in this plane crash and wish a speedy recovery to all those who managed to survive.” Kremlin’s spokesman Dimitry Peskov said.
Heavy fog is being reported the reason for the crash as the flight had to make an emergency landing. According to Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry, the aircraft circled the airport multiple times before the crash. The plane nosedived, rapidly lost altitude, and slammed into the ground, bursting into flames on impact.
Authorities have yet to determine the exact cause of the crash. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergencies reported that the plane had been diverted to Aktau due to adverse weather conditions but did not elaborate on the technical or operational issues that may have led to the disaster.
Horrifying videos circulated on social media showed the aircraft’s final moments, while images from the crash site depicted wreckage scattered across a barren field. Emergency responders worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire that engulfed the plane.