An Embraer 190 passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 32 survivors had been rescued.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia’s aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.
Officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash came shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has shut airports in the area in the past and the nearest Russian airport on the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
→ Malaysia to resume hunt for Flight MH370, 10 years after it vanished
Kazakhstan’s emergencies ministry said in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors, including two children, were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 jet was flying from Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, but had been forced to make an emergency landing around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau in Kazakhstan.
“Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board, its commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen,” Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Telegram.
With information from Reuters
Related Topics
Arajet Announces Direct Flights Between Punta Cana and Córdoba, Argentina
Porter Airlines Announces Flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Costa Rica from Canada for Winter
LATAM Launches Two New Routes Between Brazil and Argentina
Aeroméxico Resumes Direct Route Between Mexico City and Cali, Colombia
Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial con 13 años de trayectoria.