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Dozens die in Azerbaijan Airlines crash

Dozens of people have died after a plane carrying 67 people crashed in Kazakhstan, local officials said.

The country’s emergency department said at least 25 people survived.

The plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, caught fire while trying to make an emergency landing near the city of Aktau.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in Russia. Reports say it was diverted due to fog.

Video confirmed by the Reuters news agency shows the plane descending at high speed, with its landing gear down.

After a few seconds, it is seen trying to fall to the ground, and a huge fire broke out.

The airline said the plane “made an emergency landing” about 3km (1.9 miles) from Aktau.

It took off from Baku at 03:55 GMT on Wednesday, and crashed at around 06:28, data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed.

There were 62 passengers and 5 crew on board the Embraer 190, said the Ministry of Transport.

Most of the people on board were Azerbaijanis, but there were also passengers from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Of the 25 known survivors, 22 were taken to the hospital, the emergency department said.

Unverified video footage showed emergency services putting out the fire and evacuating people from the crash.

The government has started an investigation into the cause of the accident. Embraer told the BBC it was “ready to assist all relevant authorities”.

The BBC has contacted Azerbaijan Airlines for comment.


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