An Azerbaijan Airlines airliner, which was operating a flight between Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, and Grozny, capital of the Russian Caucasian republic of Chechnya, crashed on Wednesday, December 25, near the city of Aktau , in Kazakhstan, local authorities announced. “The situation is not very good”, the crash left “38 dead”, out of 67 people on board, declared the Deputy Prime Minister, Kanat Bozumbayev, during a meeting, quoted by the Russian agency Interfax . The country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, for its part, announced on Telegram that “29 people were hospitalized, including three children.” The general prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan, a country in the Caucasus from which the plane took off, had earlier stated that “32 people survived”, without giving a death toll. “We cannot release the results of the investigation at this time. All possible scenarios are being examined, and the necessary expertise is underway,” added the prosecution, specifying that a team of Azerbaijani investigators went to Kazakhstan and “is working on the scene.” At a press conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also said it was too early to speculate on the reasons for the accident, reporting however that weather conditions had forced the plane to change its trajectory. “According to information provided to me, the plane changed course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed towards Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said. For its part, the Kazakh Interior Ministry announced the opening of an investigation for “violation of air transport safety and operational rules”. A drone view shows the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, December 25, 2024. AZAMAT SARSENBAYEV / REUTERS In videos published by Russian media, the plane hit the ground, a gigantic fire immediately breaking out. Other images show the plane on the ground, partially charred, the front of the aircraft having been completely destroyed. After the crash, “the plane caught fire”, declared the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, specifying that it had dispatched 150 rescuers to the scene. Origin of crash unknown According to Azerbaijan Airlines, 62 passengers and five crew members were on board the plane, which “made an emergency landing” about 3 kilometers from Aktau. “According to initial information, there were 37 Azerbaijani nationals, six Kazakh nationals, three Kyrgyz citizens and 16 Russian citizens” on board the aircraft, said the Kazakh transport ministry. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover The origin of the crash was not immediately known. Azerbaijan Airlines initially claimed that the plane had hit a flock of birds, before withdrawing this information. For its part, the regional department of the Kazakh Ministry of Health reported, in a press release, a “balloon explosion” on board the aircraft, without further details. According to the Flightradar24 service, which allows the movement of planes to be monitored in real time, the aircraft crossed the Caspian Sea by deviating from its normal route, before circling above the area where it crashed. The black box of the device has been found, said Kazakhstan’s transport prosecutor, Timur Suleimenov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. 
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-12-25 19:13:21
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