Passenger plane on way to Russia crashes near Kazakhstan's Aktau, 38 feared dead

(Representative Image)

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, officials said.

The Embraer 190 aircraft that was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia instead flew across the Caspian Sea and went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Russian news agencies said the plane was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines and had been flying from Baku to Grozny in Russia's Chechnya, but had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny.

Videos circulating on social media depicted the plane descending at a low altitude before crashing and catching fire.

Azerbaijan Airlines stated that the Embraer 190 aircraft, operating as flight J2-8243, was en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia's Chechnya, when it was forced to make an emergency landing about 3 km (1.8 miles) from the Kazakh city of Aktau.

“Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public,” the airline said.

There were 67 passengers on board the flight, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members, the airline stated further. According to preliminary information, the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian citizens, 6 Kazakh citizens, and 3 Kyrgyz citizens.

Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Aliyev and also "expressed his condolences in connection with the crash", his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference.

A Russian emergency situations ministry had been sent to Aktau with medical personnel and other equipment, Putin said later as he opened the CIS leaders' meeting in Saint Petersburg.

Azerbaijan's first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country's first vice president, said she was "deeply saddened by the news of the tragic loss of lives in the plane crash near Aktau".

"I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Wishing them strength and patience! I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured," she said on Instagram.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram: "I express my condolences to the relatives of the passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines jet who died."