By KATIE MARIE DAVIES and DASHA LITVINOVA
An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 folks onboard crashed Wednesday close to the Kazakhstani metropolis of Aktau, killing 38 folks and leaving 29 survivors, a Kazakh official mentioned.
Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev disclosed the figures whereas assembly with Azerbaijani officers, the Russian information company Interfax reported.
The Embraer 190 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny within the North Caucasus when it was diverted and tried an emergency touchdown 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airways mentioned.
Talking at a information convention, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev mentioned that it was too quickly to invest on the explanations behind the crash, however mentioned that the climate had compelled the aircraft to alter from its deliberate course.
“The data offered to me is that the aircraft modified its course between Baku and Grozny resulting from worsening climate situations and headed to Aktau airport, the place it crashed upon touchdown,” he mentioned.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, mentioned that preliminary data confirmed that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a fowl strike led to an emergency on board.
In accordance with Kazakh officers, these aboard the aircraft included 42 Azerbaijani residents, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals. Azerbaijan’s prosecutor basic’s workplace beforehand mentioned that 32 of the 67 folks on board had survived the crash, however advised journalists that the quantity wasn’t ultimate. The Related Press couldn’t instantly reconcile the distinction between the numbers of survivors given by Kazakhstan and Azerbaijani officers.
Cell phone footage circulating on-line appeared to indicate the plane making a steep descent earlier than smashing into the bottom in a fireball. Different footage confirmed a part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the remainder of the plane, mendacity upside within the grass. The footage corresponded to the aircraft’s colours and its registration quantity.
Among the movies posted on social media confirmed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the wreckage.
Flight-tracking information from FlightRadar24.com confirmed the plane making what gave the impression to be a figure-right as soon as nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude transferring up and down considerably during the last minutes of the flight earlier than impacting the bottom.
FlightRadar24 individually mentioned in a web-based submit that the plane had confronted “sturdy GPS jamming,” which “made the plane transmit dangerous ADS-B information,” referring to the knowledge that enables flight-tracking web sites to observe planes in flight. Russia has been blamed up to now for jamming GPS transmissions within the wider area.
Azerbaijan Airways mentioned it might maintain members of the general public up to date and adjusted its social media banners to strong black. It additionally mentioned that it might droop flights between Baku and Grozny, in addition to between Baku and the town of Makhachkala in Russia’s North Caucasus, till its investigation into the crash has been concluded.
Azerbaijan’s state information company, Azertac, mentioned that an official delegation of Azerbaijan’s emergency conditions minister, the deputy basic prosecutor and the vice chairman of Azerbaijan Airways have been despatched to Aktau to conduct an “on-site investigation.”
Aliyev, who was touring to Russia, returned to Azerbaijan on listening to information of the crash, the president’s press service mentioned. He was resulting from attend an off-the-cuff assembly of leaders of the Commonwealth of Unbiased States, a bloc of former Soviet international locations based after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in St. Petersburg.
Aliyev expressed his condolences to the households of the victims in a press release on social media. “It’s with deep disappointment that I specific my condolences to the households of the victims and want a speedy restoration to these injured,” he wrote.
He additionally signed a decree declaring Dec. 26 a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Aliyev on the telephone and expressed his condolences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters.
Talking on the CIS assembly in St. Petersburg, Putin additionally mentioned that Russia’s Emergency Ministry despatched a aircraft with gear and medical staff to Kazakhstan to help with the aftermath of the crash.
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities mentioned they have been investigating the crash. Embraer advised The Related Press in a press release that the corporate is “prepared to help all related authorities.”
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Related Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.
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