Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning on Thursday after a tragic plane crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, which killed 38 of the 67 people on board. The crash involved an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which had deviated from its route from Baku to Grozny and crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, after crossing the Caspian Sea.
The plane was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, with 29 survivors, including three children, being hospitalized. The Kazakh emergency ministry worked quickly to put out the fire at the crash site, which was attended by 150 emergency workers.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday as a day of mourning, canceled his planned visit to Russia, and ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash. The flight’s black box has been recovered, and investigations are ongoing. Initial statements about a possible bird strike were retracted, and authorities are exploring all possible causes.
The victims included nationals from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Survivors, some covered in blood, were rushed to safety, with emotional accounts of the crash emerging from witnesses. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani officials, including First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, expressed condolences, while emergency personnel were deployed to assist the survivors.
