Saudi Arabia on Wednesday expressed condolences to Azerbaijan after the tragic plane crash near Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it expressed the Kingdom’s sincere condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan and the families of those killed in an Azerbaijani plane crash near the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia wished those injured a speedy recovery, the statement said.
On Wednesday, December 25, 2024, Kazakh authorities announced that an Azerbaijani passenger jet crashed near Aktau, leaving nearly 32 survivors, Reuters reported.
The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya region in southern Russia. It crashed on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after a bird strike had caused an emergency situation on board, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia.
“Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board, its commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen,” the agency said in a statement on Telegram.
The plane was carrying 62 passengers and 5 crew on board. A video of the accident showed the plane making a steep descent before bursting into flames and hitting the ground.
In a statement, Kazakhstan‘s Emergency Ministry said that fire services put out the fire, adding that survivors, including two children, are receiving treatment at nearby hospital while recovery operations of the bodies of the dead continue.
