Around 40 people likely lost their lives in the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines plane in Kazakhstan. Various media outlets quoted Kazakhstan’s Vice-Prime Minister Qanat Bosymbajev, who spoke of 38 fatalities.
There were reportedly 69 people on board the Embraer 190, with 29 of them injured and taken to the hospital. The numbers were repeatedly corrected throughout the day.
Among the 69 people on board, 42 were from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan, and 3 from Kyrgyzstan. A passenger list was also published, indicating that an 11-year-old child from Germany was on board.
The plane, with flight number 8243, was en route from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia. The passenger flight could not land in Grozny due to the strong fog and was initially diverted to Machatschkala in Russia and then to Aqtau in Kazakhstan, where it crashed a few minutes before the planned landing.
Several versions of the possible cause are currently circulating, including a collision between the plane and a bird swarm, with other media reporting that an oxygen tank on board may have exploded.