A survivor of crashed Azerbaijan Airlines flight managed to record footage from inside the cabin on Wednesday. The Azerbaijan Airlines plane with 62 passengers and five crew on board crashed in Kazakhstan.
Kazakh authorities announced that 32 survivors were rescued from the site.
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.
A video shot by a survivor showed the aftermath of the crash from inside the cabin while a man tried to get out of the wreakage.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan Airlines suspended all its flights from Baku to Russia’s Chechnya region until an investigation into the fatal crash is finished.
Officials have yet to clarify the reasons behind the plane’s sea crossing, but the crash occurred shortly after drone strikes targeted southern Russia. In the past, drone activity has led to airport closures in the region, and the nearest Russian airport along the flight path was shut down on Wednesday morning.
Footage of the crash captured the aircraft plunging rapidly before erupting into flames upon impact with the seashore. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, while passengers, visibly injured and shaken, stumbled away from a section of the fuselage that remained intact.
Kazakhstan’s emergencies ministry issued a statement confirming that fire services had extinguished the blaze. Survivors, including two children, were receiving medical attention at a nearby hospital. Efforts were underway to recover the bodies of the deceased.
Azerbaijan Airlines reported that the Embraer 190 jet had been en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in southern Russia. However, an emergency forced the aircraft to attempt a landing approximately 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Kazakhstan.
According to Russia’s aviation watchdog, “Preliminary findings suggest a collision with birds caused an emergency situation on board, prompting the pilot to divert to an alternate airfield. Aktau was selected.”
Nearby Russian airport closed
Aktau, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, lies across from Azerbaijan and Russia. Flight tracking websites showed the aircraft initially following its planned route along the western coastline before its signal was lost. The flight later reappeared on the eastern shore, circling near Aktau airport before crashing on the beach.
Meanwhile, drone strikes were reported in the Russian regions of Ingushetia and North Ossetia, adjacent to Chechnya, on Wednesday morning. An official at Makhachkala airport, the nearest to the flight’s last known location, confirmed it had been closed to incoming traffic for several hours. Attempts to reach officials at Grozny airport were unsuccessful.
Kazakh authorities announced the formation of a government commission to investigate the crash. Members of the commission were directed to the crash site to oversee the investigation and ensure support for the victims’ families. Kazakhstan pledged to collaborate with Azerbaijan on the inquiry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev extended their condolences. President Aliyev decided to return home from Russia, where he had been scheduled to attend a summit on Wednesday.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, also expressed his sympathies. He noted that some of the injured were in critical condition and urged prayers for their recovery.