Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes near Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, 42 dead

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An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with Kazakhstan's emergency ministry saying 42 people have been declared dead.

As per the ministry, the aircraft was carrying 72 passengers.

Official passenger charter or the number of souls on board is not yet released by the airline to confirm the final number of passengers on board.

According to the primary data from the aircraft transponder and ADS-B data, the aircraft made several circles above Aktau airport before it crashed.

A passenger plane en route from Baku to Grozny crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau airport on Wednesday. The incident occurred after the aircraft reportedly requested an emergency landing.

"The number of casualties is still being confirmed; however, preliminary reports indicate there are survivors," stated the country's emergency situations ministry. It added that personnel were actively working to extinguish the fire at the site.

"The Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, flight numbered J2-8243 on the Baku-Grozny route, made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometres near the city of Aktau. Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public," Azerbaijan Airlines said in a post on X.

According to inbuilt Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data of the aircraft, the aircraft took off from Baku at 03:55 UTC and was flying to Grozny.