Plane crashes in Kazakhstan; 32 survive while several others feared dead

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet with 67 people on board crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan after veering from its scheduled route, officials said.

Kazakh authorities said 32 people had survived the crash of the Embraer 190 near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.

The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku on the western shore of the Caspian to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short a visit to Russia where he had been due to attend an informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of former Soviet nations, his office said in a statement.

"A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines," the Kazakh transport ministry said on Telegram.

Azerbaijan Airlines, the country's flag carrier, said the plane had 62 passengers and five crew on board.

It said the plane "made an emergency landing" around three kilometres (1.9 miles) from Aktau.

The Kazakh transport ministry said that of the plane's passengers 37 were from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia.

32 survivors

The Kazakh emergency situations ministry said its staff put out a fire which broke out when the plane crashed.

"According to preliminary information, 32 survivors including two children have been hospitalised," the ministry said.

It said 150 emergency workers were at the scene.

The health ministry said a special flight was being sent from the Kazakh capital Astana with specialist doctors to treat the injured.

Aliyev's office said: "The President ordered the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster."

Local health officials earlier said 14 survivors had been taken to the regional hospital, with five put in intensive care.

Azerbaijan's first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country's first Vice President, said she was "Deeply saddened by the news of the tragic loss of lives in the plane crash near Aktau."

"I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Wishing them strength and patience! I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured," she said on Instagram.

"I express my condolences to the relatives of the passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines jet who died," Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram.

Additionally, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the plane crash, in a post on X.

He wrote: "Deeply saddened by the news of the tragic crash of an Azerbaijani airliner near Aktau, Kazakhstan. My heartfelt condolences to my dear brother President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan over the loss of precious lives in this incident."

"Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and we wish a swift recovery to the injured.Pakistan stands with Azerbaijan in this hour of grief."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed his condolences to Aliyev.

"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," the Kremlin's Peskov said.

"We deeply sympathise with those who lost their relatives and friends in this plane crash and wish a speedy recovery to all those who managed to survive."

The plane's course on Flight Radar showed it crossing the Caspian Sea away from its normal route and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed.

Kazakhstan said it had opened an investigation into the crash.