By : Lloyd Mahachi
A devastating plane crash in Kazakhstan has left 38 people dead, but dozens of others have miraculously survived. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was carrying 67 people when it caught fire and crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing near the city of Aktau.
The plane was en route to Grozny in Russia, but was diverted due to fog. Footage of the crash shows the aircraft heading towards the ground at high speed with its landing gear down, before bursting into flames as it lands. The airline described the incident as an “emergency landing” that occurred about 3km from Aktau.
The crash occurred at around 06:28 GMT on Wednesday, and the plane had taken off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku just a few hours earlier. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the aircraft may have collided with a flock of birds before crashing, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The plane’s black box flight recorder has been recovered, and officials have launched an investigation into the incident. Azerbaijan Airlines has cancelled flights between Baku and the Russian cities of Grozny and Makhachkala while the investigation is ongoing.
The passengers on board were mostly Azerbaijani nationals, but there were also some from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. A woman who was travelling to spend the holidays with her children in Chechnya was among those who died in the crash. Another mother, who was travelling with medical tests for her sick child, is still missing.
A young woman shared her heartache with the BBC as she desperately tried to find out what happened to her father, who was on the flight. Her father had been travelling with his son, who survived the crash, but there was still no news of his father’s fate.
The Embraer 190 plane caught fire and split apart as it landed, and unverified video footage showed survivors crawling out of the wreckage, some with visible injuries. Emergency services were quickly on the scene to put out the fire and tend to the survivors.
Both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have launched investigations into the incident, and the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has offered to assist the authorities. The incident is a tragic reminder of the risks of air travel, but also a testament to the strength and resilience of those who survived.
As the investigation into the crash continues, the families of those on board are left to pick up the pieces and try to come to terms with what happened. The incident has sent shockwaves around the world, and our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy.
The cause of the crash is still unknown, but officials are working tirelessly to determine what went wrong. The recovery of the black box flight recorder is a crucial step in this process, and it is hoped that it will provide some answers in the coming days.
In the meantime, the people of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are coming together to support those affected by the crash. It is a difficult and trying time, but the resilience and strength of the human spirit will ultimately prevail.
Editor : Josephine Mahachi
