Dozens are feared dead after a passenger plane carrying 67 people crashed in Kazakhstan, the country’s emergencies ministry said.
Authorities say 32 people survived the Christmas morning crash, including two children.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia, but was rerouted due to fog.
It crashed near the city of Aktau, in the west of the country.
Emergency services work at the scene of the crash. Pic: Reuters
A video believed to capture the moment of impact shows the aircraft plunging towards ground at speed, and a resulting ball of flame.
Pictures from the crash site show the wrecked tail section of the Embraer 190 plane, with emergency services working around it.
More than 50 rescuers are at the scene, where a fire has been extinguished, Kazakhstani authorities said.
It’s not yet clear what happened that caused the plane – which was carrying 62 passengers and five crew – to crash.
Flames seen as the plane crashes. Pic: Reuters TV
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Survivors are being treated at a nearby hospital. Four bodies have been recovered.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the aircraft had been forced to make an emergency landing at Aktau airport.
According to the carrier, 37 passengers were Azerbaijani citizens. There were also 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhstani and three Kyrgyzstani citizens, it said.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggested the pilot had decided to make an emergency landing after a bird strike.
Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart, the Kremlin said.
Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya, also expressed his condolences and said those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.