An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer-190 aircraft carrying 67 people crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, with authorities confirming at least 29 survivors, including two children. The plane, diverted from its original Baku-to-Grozny route due to fog, reportedly encountered difficulties after striking birds during an attempted emergency landing.
The crash site, located approximately 1.8 miles from Aktau, revealed a scene of both tragedy and survival. Emergency responders found the aircraft’s tail section largely intact but separated from the fuselage. Unverified footage from Russian state media showed some passengers walking away from the wreckage while others required immediate medical attention.
Adding complexity to the investigation, Flightradar24 reported the aircraft had experienced GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny, coinciding with reported drone strikes in Chechnya. Multiple criminal investigations have been launched by authorities in Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
The international passenger manifest included 37 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals. The incident prompted Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to declare Thursday a national day of mourning and cut short his planned attendance at a gathering of former Soviet state leaders in St. Petersburg.
Kazakhstan’s Emergency Situations Ministry has revised its initial survivor count from 25 to 29 as rescue efforts continue. The ministry has documented the emergency response with photographs showing firefighters searching through debris, while launching an investigation into the crash’s causes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart as the three nations coordinate their response to the disaster.
