Azerbaijan Airlines Jet Crashes in Kazakhstan, Dozens Reported Dead

A passenger jet crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan on Wednesday and officials report dozens have died. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, carrying 67 individuals—62 passengers and 5 crew—was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. Azerbaijani authorities reported 32 survivors.

The official cause of the crash is unknown.

The crash followed a reported emergency landing attempt near Aktau. Russia’s aviation watchdog alleged the crash was caused by a bird strike. Notably, the aircraft veered significantly off its scheduled route, crossing the Caspian Sea before the accident. 

Reuters reported that there were drone strikes in Southern Russia at the time, and that the destination airport in Grozny was closed to incoming traffic for several hours on Wednesday morning.

Dramatic unverified footage shows the plane descending rapidly and bursting into flames on impact, and people later crawling out of the charred wreckage of the plane. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have both announced they have launched investigations, with Azerbaijani stating they have experts on-site to examine potential causes.

Azerbaijan airlines stated that the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian citizens, 6 Kazakh citizens, and 3 Kyrgyz citizens. They published a full list of passengers on social media platform X for families to search for their loved ones.

Reuters reported that the flight briefly disappeared from flight tracking on its flight, but reappeared circling near Aktau before crashing into a nearby beach.

Efforts continue to recover victims and provide medical care. The Embraer manufacturer stated it had a readiness to assist investigators.

Azerbaijani president President Ilham Aliyev had been in Russia at the time of the crash for an informal summit of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States member states in St. Petersburg due to the tragedy, and returned home to hold emergency meetings.