Kazakhstan Plane Crash: 14 Survivors Rescued, Dozens Feared Dead

A plane carrying over 60 passengers crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, with 14 survivors rescued while dozens are feared dead, according to the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry. The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190, operating flight number 8243, was en route from Baku to Grozny in Russia's Chechnya region when it was rerouted due to fog at its scheduled destination. The crash occurred approximately three kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau Airport.

Reports indicated that the aircraft was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members at the time of the incident. Visuals purportedly capturing the crash circulated on social media, depicting the aircraft descending rapidly before erupting into a fireball upon impact.

Kazakhstan authorities confirmed that 14 survivors have been transported to a regional hospital, with five of them in critical condition and receiving intensive care. Emergency services quickly extinguished the fire caused by the crash, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause, including the possibility of a technical malfunction.

The crash follows another recent aviation tragedy in Brazil, where a small aircraft crashed into a residential area in the tourist town of Gramado, resulting in 10 fatalities. The incident also left more than a dozen individuals on the ground injured, with two reported to be in critical condition.

According to Brazil’s Civil Defence Agency, the plane struck the chimney of a home and the second floor of a building before crashing into a mobile phone shop. Local media reported that the victims onboard were members of the same family traveling from a town in Rio Grande do Sul to São Paulo state. First responders at the scene worked to retrieve survivors from the wreckage.

Investigations into the causes of both incidents remain ongoing.