A tragic incident occurred on Christmas Day when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane suffered a crash in Kazakhstan, claiming the lives of 42 individuals and leaving 28 survivors.
The Embraer 190 aircraft was engulfed in flames upon crashing near Aktau, Kazakhstan, causing immense tragedy and heartache.
This flight, which was transporting 67 passengers along with five crew members, was on its way from Baku to Grozny at the time of the accident.
Dramatic video captured the plane as it erupted into flames upon impact, with ominous black smoke billowing from the wreckage. Survivors, visibly shaken and in pain, were seen fleeing the scene, their expressions reflecting the trauma they experienced.
Reports have noted that the crash site was approximately three kilometers from Aktau, a significant hub for oil and gas in Kazakhstan.
The Embraer E190AR aircraft sent out a distress signal while it was flying at 2,125 feet above the Caspian Sea. Preliminary indications suggest that a bird strike triggered an oxygen tank explosion, which resulted in the disastrous crash.
In the aftermath, rescue teams moved swiftly to extinguish the flames and transport the injured to nearby hospitals. Amongst the 28 individuals who survived, seven are in critical condition, among them are two children aged 11 and 16.
Tragically, it is believed that both the pilots perished in the crash, leaving a female flight attendant as the sole surviving crew member.
The crash has drawn sorrowful responses from across the globe. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev promptly returned from his trip to Russia upon learning of the disaster.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to President Aliyev, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov offered prayers for the injured.
Kazakhstan’s authorities have quickly launched an investigation to determine the crash’s cause and have assembled a government commission to provide aid and support to the families of the victims. In a display of solidarity, local residents were encouraged to donate blood for the survivors who are in need of immediate medical assistance.
Survivors’ accounts and eyewitness testimonies provided a glimpse of the horrific ordeal. Shocking footage emerged showing passengers clambering out of the wrecked rear section of the plane, with some sitting dazed on the tarmac. Witnesses recounted the harrowing moments leading to an emergency landing in Aktau, forced by severe fog in both Grozny and Makhachkala.
According to survivors, the explosion of an oxygen tank filled the cabin with smoke, causing many to lose consciousness. The remaining wreckage scattered throughout the Aktau airport grounds stands as a bleak marker of the accident.
International efforts to investigate the crash are underway as authorities from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan collaborate to uncover all possible technical failures and factors involved, ensuring maximum safety to prevent future occurrences of such tragedies.
We invite you to share your thoughts and comments on this heartrending event.
