Dozens of people have died in a plane crash in Kazakhstan, but at least 28 survived, officials say

Moscow — An Azerbaijani plane with dozens on board crashed in the western Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, and Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said at least 28 people survived and were hospitalized.

In a statement published on Telegram, the ministry confirmed that there were 67 people on the plane, including 5 crew members. Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing the ministry, reports that there may be more survivors.

The Embraer 190 made an emergency landing about 2 miles from Aktau.

The Ministry of Emergencies of Kazakhstan initially said that 25 people survived the accident, and then, due to the ongoing search and rescue operation at the accident site, this figure was increased to 27, and then to 28, and the number of possible deaths decreased.

The plane was originally supposed to fly from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus.

A spokesman for Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that according to initial reports, the pilot turned to Aktau after a bird strike on the plane caused an “emergency on board”.

Russian news agencies reported that the plane’s route was changed due to fog in Grozny, Reuters reports.

Interfax reports that Kazakh officials have started investigating the possible causes of the accident, including a technical problem.

Mobile phone footage circulating online shows the plane making a steep descent before crashing into the ground in a ball of flames. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the crews extinguished the fire on the spot.

In other images, part of its body was torn from the wings, and the rest was lying upside down in the grass. The images matched the aircraft’s colors and registration number.

Unverified video of the crash showed people stumbling over the intact fuselage, Reuters reported.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed that the plane made a right figure as it approached Aktau Airport, its altitude moving up and down significantly before impacting the ground in the final minutes of the flight.

In a separate online post, FlightRadar24 said the plane was experiencing “severe GPS jamming” that “caused the plane to transmit bad ADS-B data,” citing data that allows flight tracking sites to track planes in flight. Russia has been accused in the past of jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.

Embraer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday morning. In the statement issued by “Azerbaijan Airlines”, it said that it will constantly warn public representatives and changed its banners on social networks to black.