An Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, flying from Baku to Grozny on Wednesday, December 25, crashed near Aktau. According to preliminary data from the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, there were 69 people on board, including five crew members. The list of the dead and injured is being clarified.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 29 people, including two children, have been hospitalized . The ambulance team confirmed the death of four people. Emergency rescue operations are continuing at the crash site. More than 700 personnel and 82 units of civil defense equipment are participating in the operation.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has instructed to keep special control over the work with affected citizens and to provide the necessary assistance to the governments of neighboring countries.
What else is known
The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took special control of the investigation into the plane crash in Aktau.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Violation of traffic safety rules or operation of air transport, resulting in the death of two or more persons" regarding the crash of the AZAL airline plane near the city of Aktau. An investigative task force has been created from among employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police departments of the Mangistau region and transport. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is at the scene of the incident," the report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan says.
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports that an interdepartmental investigative task force has been created in connection with the plane crash in Aktau under the leadership of the agency's special prosecutors: it includes experienced employees of the transport prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
"The chief transport prosecutor flew to the scene of the incident as part of a government commission. The criminal case is under the special control of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan," the statement said.
December 26 was declared a National Mourning Day in Azerbaijan due to the plane crash near Aktau. The Baku airport even took down the New Year tree in connection with the tragedy.
And in Aktau, the ceremony of lighting the city's main New Year tree, which was planned to be held today, was cancelled. This was reported by the Akimat of Mangistau Region, CMN reports .
The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Kamaladdin Fattah oglu Heydarov, arrived in Aktau.
A republican headquarters has been deployed at the Command Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which includes representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, the National Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organizations.
Aktau residents donate blood for victims of the plane crash.
In Astana, people bring flowers to the Azerbaijani embassy.
Versions of why the plane crashed
- The press service of the Mangistau region health department reported that “an [oxygen] cylinder exploded on board the plane.”
- The press service of the RSE "KazAeronavigation" reported that the emergency situation may have occurred due to a collision with a bird and fog, as well as a malfunction of the steering control.
The Interfax publication, citing emergency services, writes that the plane crash could have been caused by technical failure.
- "Before the crash, the crew reported to dispatchers about the failure of one of the main systems. They sent a distress signal and then the plane disappeared from radar screens. Thus, the version of a technical malfunction is now being considered as a priority," the agency's interlocutor said.
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Cover: Photo by the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan