Dozens of individuals have survived a crash involving a aircraft carrying 67 individuals in Kazakhstan, native officers say.
Kazakh authorities stated 38 individuals had been killed within the crash.
The aircraft was en path to Grozny in Russia however it was diverted attributable to fog, the airline advised the BBC. The Kremlin stated on Thursday that it could not “put ahead hypotheses” about the reason for the crash till the investigation was completed.
Azerbaijan Airways flight J2-8243 caught fireplace because it tried to make an emergency touchdown close to the Kazakh metropolis of Aktau.
Footage exhibits the plane heading in the direction of the bottom at excessive pace with its touchdown gear down, earlier than bursting into flames because it lands.
The airline stated the aircraft “made an emergency touchdown” about 3km (1.9 miles) from Aktau.
It took off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku at 03:55 GMT on Wednesday, and crashed round 06:28, information from flight-tracking web site Flightradar24 confirmed.
Unconfirmed stories from Russian media stated the plane might need collided with a flock of birds earlier than crashing.
Azerbaijan’s prosecutor normal stated “all doable eventualities” had been being examined and President Ilham Aliyev stated it was too early to say something definitive.
Air defence consultants have advised that the sample of harm inside and out of doors the aircraft signifies Russian air defence energetic in Grozny could have triggered the crash.
“It seems to be very very like the detonation of an air defence missile to the rear and to the left of the plane, if you happen to take a look at the sample of shrapnel that we see,” Justin Crump of danger advisory firm Sibylline advised BBC Radio 4.
Azerbaijan Airways stated flights between Baku and the Russian cities of Grozny and Makhachkala can be cancelled pending an investigation into the incident.
The aircraft’s flight information recorder has been recovered, officers say.
These on board had been largely Azerbaijani nationals, however there have been additionally some passengers from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
A lady who was travelling to spend the vacations along with her youngsters in Chechnya, of which Grozny is the capital, died within the crash. One mom, travelling with medical exams for her sick baby, continues to be lacking.
A younger lady shared her heartache with the BBC’s Azerbaijani service as she tried to search out out what occurred to her father, who was on the flight.
She defined that her father had been travelling together with his son, who survived the crash. The son managed to contact his sister, however there was nonetheless no information of their father.
Unverified video footage confirmed survivors crawling out of the wreckage, some with seen accidents.
Each Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have launched investigations into the incident. Embraer advised the BBC it was “prepared to help all related authorities”.
The BBC has contacted Azerbaijan Airways for remark.
Embraer, a Brazilian producer, is a smaller rival to Boeing and Airbus, and has a powerful security document.
