Plane carrying 67 people crashes in Kazakhstan, officials say; more than 20 survive

Astana, Kazakhstan
CNN
—

At least 29 people have survived after a plane burst into flames after crashing near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, authorities said, as rescue workers searched for dozens of other passengers feared dead.

Extraordinary video of the crash captured the moment dazed survivors emerged from the wrecked plane, which had 67 people on board.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in the Russian region of Chechnya before it made an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau, the airline said.

Two of the 29 survivors are children, authorities said, adding that all have been taken to a nearby hospital.

Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said its teams found the plane on fire on arrival at the scene with rescue units extinguishing the fire on arrival.

Video of the crash showed the plane circling erratically around the airfield before the crash. When it hit the ground, the plane burst into flames and bloodied passengers emerged from the wreckage shortly after.

Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information indicated the pilot had decided to make an emergency landing after a bird strike.

There were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board, Kazakhstan’s transport ministry said in a preliminary report. It said 37 of the passengers were citizens of Azerbaijan, six of Kazakhstan, three of Kyrgyzstan and 16 of Russia, according to preliminary data.

“Further information about the incident will be released to the public,” the airline said said on his Facebook page.

The Kazakh government has set up a commission to investigate the cause of the crash.

“The commission was instructed to immediately fly to the accident site, ensure a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the crash and take measures to provide priority assistance to the families of the dead and injured,” a government statement said.

Kazakhstan will cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, it added.

This story has been updated. CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova, Victoria Butenko, Lucas Lilieholm, Edward Szekeres contributed reporting.