Baku-Grozny plane crash: what do we know?

A passenger plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed at the Aktau airport in western Kazakhstan this morning, the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry reported.

The plane belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines. The captain of the crew opted to divert to an alternate airfield after a bird strike created an emergency situation on board, ultimately selecting Aktau as the destination.

Survivors

There were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board: 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 citizens of Russia, 6 citizens of Kazakhstan and 3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan. A total of 29 people have survived the plane crash, including at least 14 Azerbaijani citizens.

Aftermath

A total of 52 rescuers and 11 pieces of equipment from the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan have arrived at the crash site. Upon arrival, the aircraft was found to be on fire. Rescue units began extinguishing the fire. Kazakhstan's operational services are currently engaged in search and rescue efforts.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is on his way to Baku from a Russia-hosted informal CIS summit after an AZAL plane crashed in Kazakhstan.