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According to the Emergencies Ministry of Kazakhstan, a passenger plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines caught fire after crashing close to Aktau city. The Embraer 190 was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, to Grozny in Chechnya, Russia, but had to be rerouted because of fog in Grozny. The aircraft was carrying sixty-two passengers and five crew members. Initial information shared on Telegram revealed that there are 32 survivors, with 22 of them being admitted to the hospital.
The incident occurred near the airport. It has been reported that the aircraft made multiple circles while attempting to secure an emergency landing; however, it ultimately stalled and crashed. According to the Kazakh transport ministry, among the passengers on board, 37 were from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan, and 16 from Russia. Prior to the crash, the aircraft sent out a distress signal, indicating a collision with a flock of birds and a malfunction in the steering system. The pilots tried to increase both speed and altitude until the very last moment, but the controls failed completely.
According to the online flight tracking website, flightRadar the aircraft was observed flying over the Caspian sea while heading toward its destination in Chechnya. Upon entering Russian airspace, it began to circle near the airport and requested an emergency landing. The flight crashed near the caspian sea coast, just a few kilometers from the airport. FlightRadar24 noted that the aircraft was affected by ‘severe GPS jamming, which caused it to send inaccurate ADS-B data.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep sadness and offered sincere condolences to President Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan following the unfortunate incident. “Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Pakistan remains united with Azerbaijan in this moment of sorrow,” Shehbaz remarked in a statement on X.
