Azerbaijan has marked December 26 as a day of mourning for the victims of a deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan, which left 38 people dead and dozens injured. The crash, involving an Azerbaijan Airlines flight, occurred on December 25 as the plane attempted an emergency landing in Aktau.
Azerbaijan has observed a day of mourning on December 26 for the victims of a passenger plane crash that occurred the day before in Kazakhstan. The incident has left at least 38 people dead and dozens more injured.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic, veered off course and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan. The flight had 67 people on board, including 42 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals.
Authorities in both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have launched investigations into the cause of the crash, focusing particularly on weather conditions. The pilot’s cabin recording has been recovered as part of the inquiry. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev suggested that bad weather may have contributed to the incident, explaining that the plane had diverted due to worsening conditions before heading toward Aktau.
“Information I received indicates that the plane changed course from Baku to Grozny because of deteriorating weather and was headed for Aktau Airport before the crash,” Aliyev stated.
The Azerbaijani General Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that all possible scenarios are being investigated. Many of the victims remain unidentified due to severe burns sustained in the crash, while some survivors are reported to be in critical condition with extensive burns.
Nine of the survivors are Russian nationals. They were transported to Moscow on December 26 by a plane from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for medical treatment.
In the wake of the tragedy, Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended all flights from Baku to Chechnya until investigations into the crash are completed.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that the plane had passed all inspections in October and that the pilot had over 15,000 hours of flight experience.
