Passenger plane from Azerbaijan to Russia has crashed in Kazakhstan, raising concerns about fatalities

An Embraer passenger aircraft en route from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, carrying 67 passengers and five crew members, according to Kazakh officials, who reported that 12 individuals survived the incident.

Unverified footage of the crash depicted the aircraft, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, engulfed in flames upon impact, with thick black smoke billowing into the air. The emergencies ministry of Kazakhstan stated that firefighting teams had extinguished the fire and that the survivors were receiving medical care at a local hospital.

Azerbaijan Airlines confirmed that the Embraer 190, designated flight J2-8243, was traveling from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, Russia, but had to execute an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau due to adverse weather conditions, specifically fog in Grozny, as reported by Russian news outlets. Kazakh authorities have initiated an investigation into various potential causes of the crash, including the possibility of a technical malfunction, according to Interfax.