Children among 32 survivors after plane crashes in Kazakhstan

At least 32 people, including two children, have survived after a plane carrying 67 people from Azerbaijan to southern Russia crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, local authorities have said.

Four people have been confirmed dead.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243, flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in the Russian region of Chechnya, made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) from Aktau, the carrier said.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said its teams found the aircraft on fire upon arrival at the scene.

“Rescue units began extinguishing the fire. Currently, information about the victims is being clarified, and according to preliminary information, there are survivors,” the ministry said.

There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board, Kazakhstan’s transport ministry said in a preliminary report.

It said 37 of the passengers were citizens of Azerbaijan, six of Kazakhstan, three of Kyrgyzstan, and 16 of Russia, according to preliminary data.

“Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public,” the airline said on its Facebook page.

Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.

Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft, lying upside in the grass. The footage corresponded to the plane’s colours and its registration number.

Some of the videos posted on social media showed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the wreckage of the plane.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been traveling to St Petersburg, returned to Azerbaijan on hearing news of the crash, the president’s press service said. Aliyev was due to attend an informal meeting of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of former Soviet countries founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media. “It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” he wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Aliyev on the phone and expressed his condolences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Both Kazakhstani and Azerbaijani authorities were investigating the crash.