Azerbaijan Airlines Passenger Plane Crashes Near Kazakhstan’s Aktau

An Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.

In a statement, AZAL informed that the Embraer 190 aircraft, operating the Baku-Grozny flight, made an emergency landing 3 kilometers from the city of Aktau, The Caspian Post reports.

According to preliminary information, the cause of the crash was a collision of the aircraft with a flock of birds, the statement said.

The Kazakh Emergency Ministry said that the aircraft caught fire following the crash, and emergency responders are working to extinguish it, adding that preliminary reports indicated there are survivors.

"Fifty-two personnel and 11 units of equipment from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan have been deployed. Upon arrival, the aircraft was found ablaze. Rescue operations are ongoing, and information about the victims is being clarified," the ministry stated.

The public will be provided with additional information regarding the incident.