Spasi-id.com - Azerbaijan marked the day of mourning after a local airline passenger plane crashed off the coast of the Caspian Sea. Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia are investigating an emergency landing on Wednesday morning which killed at least 38 people.
The 5 facts of Azerbaijan Airlines crash crashed in Kazakhstan.
1. The plane is on its way to Chechnya
It crashed about three kilometers from Aktau in Kazakhstan, on the east coast of the Caspian Sea.
It's on its way from the Azerbaijan capital, Baku, to Grozny, Chechen capital in southern Russia.
Who's in it? Embraer Flight 190, flight number J2-8243, carrying 62 passengers and five crew members.
According to Kazakhstan officials, the people on board are citizens of four different countries:
- 42 citizens of Azerbaijan
- 16 Russian citizens
- 6 Kazakhstan citizens
- Three Kirgistan citizens
2. As many as 32 passengers survived
Congratulations. There are 32 survivors, including two children, who have been hospitalized, with many in critical condition. Many were pulled out of the wreckage, while some, according to the first responders and videotape, dragged themselves out, covered in blood.
Deputy Prime Minister Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev announced that 38 people have died.
The Russian Interfax news office cited an emergency officer's statement at the scene saying that both pilots, by initial assessment, were killed in the accident.
3. Plane Hit Bird
The accident was reported due to an "emergency" situation on board after a bird crash, said the Russian flight supervisor was on Telegram.
The ship must have deviated from its original route due to heavy fog in Grozny, destination, and made an emergency landing.
The commercial flight tracking website recorded the flight it traveled north along a scheduled route on the west coast before it disappeared. Then reappeared on the east coast, spinning around Aktau airport before it finally fell.
"According to initial reports, the plane requested an alternate landing at the airport before the crash... due to heavy fog in Grozny," Yulia Shapovalova from Al Jazeera reporting from Moscow.
President Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a statement that "according to the information given to me, the AZAL airline, which flew on the Baku- Grozny route, changed its course because the weather conditions were deteriorating and began heading to Aktau airport, the crash site occurred on landing."
The nearest Russian airport, Makhachkala, closed early that day due to the activity of the drone.
A powerful GPS disorder in the region, which has been linked to previous incidents, may have been increasingly difficult to navigate and contributed to the accident, according to an online post by the FlightRadar24.
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"There's a video of a plane crash available in the media and social networking, and everyone can watch it. However, the reason the accident was not yet known to us," said President Azerbaijan. "There are various theories, but I'm sure it's still too early to discuss them."
Four. Fast Running Crisis Handling
Emergency services have actively responded to the situation.
Firefighters put out the fire caused by the accident, while 150 emergency workers and medical teams, including specialists flown from Astra, treated the injured.
Azerbaijan Airlines said to suspend all flights between Baku and Grozny, and Baku and Makhachkala until the investigation is complete.
The airline has also set up a special phone line for passenger family members and posted all their names on its social media page.
Then Aliyev also signed a decree that declared December 26 as a day of mourning in the country. President Azerbaijan, who was flying to Russia to attend the summit meeting, said that he was told about the accident while he was in the air.
"I immediately gave instructions for the plane to return to Baku," Aliyev said in a statement issued by his office.
5. Investigations are underway.
Kazakhstan authorities, Azerbaijan, and the Russians say they're investigating the accident.
"An investigative team, led by Deputy Attorney General Azerbaijan, has been sent to Kazakhstan and worked at the crash site," said the Attorney General's Office in Azerbaijan in a statement.
The Azerbaijan state news office, Azertac, says that the team sent to Aktau for "investigation in place" also includes the emergency minister Azerbaijan situation and vice president Azerbaijan Airlines. Azertac says that the plane's black box - the flight recorder that the investigator used to determine the cause of the flight crash - has been found.
On the other hand Aliyev, in his statement, says that "criminal case has been opened" and that the Azerbaijan society will be "periodically informed" about the progress of the investigation.
Kazakhstan has formed a government commission to examine the cause of the disaster and ensure that the families of the victims are killed and the wounds get the help they need.
Investigations focused on potential technical problems and closing the nearby airspace.
Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, has expressed his willingness to assist in the investigation.
So 5 facts of Azerbaijan Airlines crash crashed in Kazakhstan
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