Azerbaijan Airlines Crash in Kazakhstan Kills 38 of 67
An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 passenger jet, Flight J2-8243, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard.
The aircraft, traveling from Baku to Grozny, Russia, made an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau airport. Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 revealed that the aircraft appeared to perform a figure-eight maneuver as it approached the airport in Aktau. In the final minutes of the flight, its altitude fluctuated significantly before it crashed.
The Kazakhstan Ministry of Transport reported that the plane was carrying 37 Azerbaijani nationals, along with 6 Kazakh, 3 Kyrgyz, and 16 Russian citizens. In response to the crash, 52 personnel and 11 units of equipment from the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations were deployed to the site to support rescue and recovery efforts.
Initial reports indicate that 12 people with varying degrees of injury were transported from the crash site to Mangystau Regional Hospital in Aktau, while other survivors are receiving medical care.
According to a Euronews report citing official sources involved in the crash investigation, as the flight approached its destination near Groznyy, surviving passengers reported hearing an explosion, followed by what appeared to be shrapnel striking the plane and entering the fuselage.
The information aligns with a report from Azerbaijan-based international news outlet AnewZ, which cites a Russian military blogger who speculates that the damage to the aircraft indicates it may have been accidentally hit by an air-defense missile system.
Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended its flights to Chechnya pending investigation results.
Officials, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, have declared a national day of mourning and pledged full cooperation in the investigation.
