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An Azerbaijan Airlines plane carrying 62 passengers and five crew members crashed while making an emergency landing at a Kazakhstan airport, and 29 survivors, including two children, were taken to hospital.
Videos on social media showed a huge explosion after the plane crashed into the air. Footage from the scene showed the passengers climbing out of the tail of the fuselage with the help of emergency personnel.
Those on board were from Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian news agency Ria reported, citing Kazakhstan's transport ministry.
Local media reports that nine of those taken to hospital are in critical condition and that search and rescue operations are ongoing.
The plane, an Embraer 190, was en route to Grozny in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya from Azerbaijan's capital Baku, but was diverted to Aktau after flying through heavy fog.
Earlier media reports suggested that the plane hit a flock of birds, which affected the flight control.
“After the collision of the birds, due to the emergency situation on the plane, its captain decided to go to another airfield and Aktau was chosen,” Ria said, citing the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia. Local media shared unconfirmed reports of an oxygen canister exploding on board, leading many passengers to lose consciousness.
Baku has sent an official delegation to Kazakhstan to investigate the incident, Azerbaijan's APA news agency said. The country's president, Ilham Aliyev, left the informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Russia and returned to Baku. He expressed his condolences to the affected families.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin also conveyed his condolences to the Azerbaijani leader.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased on social media. “We pray to the Almighty that (survivors) recover.”
Photos on social media showed relatives gathered at Grozny airport to hear the news of their loved ones.
A man at Grozny airport said he had just received a video where he could see his nephew survive the crash. “Of course I'm very happy,” he told a reporter from Ria News.