A Russia-bound flight of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed in western Kazakhstan on Wednesday, officials confirmed. The flight had taken off from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and was scheduled to land in Russia's Gronzy.
There were 67 passengers onboard the Embraer ERJ-190 flight of Azerbaijan Airlines, which included 62 passengers and five crew members, according to Kazakh officials.
At least 42 among them have likely died in the accident, Kazakhstan's emergency ministry said, according to the Associated Press report.
The plane crashed near three kilometres from Aktau, the Kazakh city located on the shores of Caspian Sea.
"A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines," Kazakhstan's transport ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram.
"Information about casualties is currently being clarified but, according to preliminary information, there are survivors," it added.
The flight took off at around 3:55 a.m. UTC, according to FlightRadar24. "The aircraft was exposed to strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data. At 04:40 UTC we lost the ADS-B signal. At 06:07 UTC we picked up the ADS-B signal again before it crashed at 06:28 UTC," it tweeted.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is a modern surveillance system that integrates an aircraft's positioning data, avionics, and ground infrastructure to provide an accurate interface between the aircraft and Air Traffic Control.
At least 14 survivors have been hospitalised, news agency AFP reported, citing Kazakh health authorities.
The Kazakhstan government said that the emergency services were trying to suppress the fire at the crash site.
Reports are coming in of an accident at Aktau Airport, Kazakhstan involving an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190. pic.twitter.com/X42mS3sSsO
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