A plane crash in Kazakhstan left dozens dead but at least 28 survived, officials said

in Moscow – An Azerbaijani airliner carrying a large number of passengers crashed on Wednesday in the western Kazakh city of Aktau and Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said at least 28 people survived and were hospitalized.

The ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement that 67 people, including five crew members, were on board the plane. Russian news agency Interfax quoted the ministry as saying there may be more survivors.

The Embraer 190 plane made an emergency landing about two miles from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said earlier.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kazakhstan initially said that 25 people survived the accident, later they adjusted that number to 27 and then to 28 as the search and rescue operation continues at the accident site, reducing the number of dead.

The flight was scheduled to fly from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus.

A spokesman for Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said initial information indicated the pilot chose to divert to Aktau after a bird strike on the plane led to an “emergency situation.”

Russian news agencies said the plane was diverted due to fog in Grozny, Reuters said.

Interfax reported that Kazakh authorities said they had begun investigating the possible cause of the crash, including a technical problem, according to Reuters.

Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the plane making a descent before crashing to the ground in a fireball. Crews extinguished the fire in the area, emergency services said.

Some pictures show part of its fuselage torn from the wings and the rest of the plane lying face up in the grass. The images were consistent with the aircraft’s colors and registration number.

Unverified video of the crash showed people stumbling out of the intact piece of fuselage, Reuters reported.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the plane making what appeared to be a fine line as it approached Aktau airport, with its altitude fluctuating dramatically in the final minutes of the flight before touching down.

FlightRadar24 separately said on its website that the plane experienced “GPS jamming” that caused the “plane to transmit negative ADS-B data,” referring to the information that allows aircraft tracking websites to track planes in flight. Russia has been accused in the past of interfering with GPS transmissions over a wide area.

Embraer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday. In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public informed and change its social media banners to black.