First responders help survivors of plane crash

Associated Press

Moscow: An Az First responders have extricated numerous survivors from a plane crash near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea coast, according to local officials and videos from the scene. The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR, which was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members when it went down on Wednesday morning. Officials have yet to provide the exact number of victims, although the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations has put the number of survivors at 28, including two children. Local media have released footage from the scene showing some of the survivors.

One woman is seen in a shell-shocked state but without signs of major injuries, as she is pulled from the hull of the plane while shouting out in pain. The clip also shows a man who was limping but had no other visible injuries. Other heavily blurred videos from the scene appear to show the bodies of passengers who died in the crash. According to local media, numerous Aktau residents have lined up at hospitals to donate blood for the victims. Citing preliminary data, local officials said the tragedy was caused by a bird strike. News outlet Orda cited eyewitnesses as reporting that the impact affected one of the plane’s engines, prompting an oxygen cylinder to explode, with many passengers being rendered unconscious. Kazakh authorities have announced the creation of a special commission to investigate the crash, with a case being opened into potential violation of safety regulations. The footage corresponded to the plane's colours and its registration number.

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the air craft making what appeared to be a figureright once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground. FlightRadar24 separately said in an online post that the aircraft had faced strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data , referring to the information that allows flightt r a c k i n g we b s i t e s to follow planes in flight. Russia has been blamed in the past for j a m m i n g GPS transmissions in the wider region. Embraer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday morning. In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public updated and changed its social media banners to solid black. Azerbaijan's state news agency, Azertac, said that an official delegation consisting of Azerbaijan's emergency situations minister, the country's deputy general prosecutor, and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines had been dispatched to Aktau to conduct an on-site investigation.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been traveling to St Petersburg, returned to Azerbaijan on hearing news of the crash, the president's press service said. Aliyev was due to attend an informal meeting of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of former Soviet countries founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media. It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured, he wrote. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Aliyev on the phone and expressed his condolences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Both Kazakhstani and Azerbaijani authorities were investigating the crash.

Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is ready to assist all relevant authorities. Azerbaijan’s first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country’s vicepresident, said she was “deeply saddened by the news of the tragic loss of lives in the plane crash near Aktau”. “I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.