ASTANA, Kazakhstan — A passenger jet operated by Embraer, traveling from Azerbaijan to Russia, crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, carrying 62 passengers and a crew of five. Kazakh officials stated that 32 individuals had been rescued from the wreckage.

The flight, J2-8243 from Azerbaijan Airlines, deviated significantly from its planned route before crashing near Aktau, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, reportedly due to an emergency situation that may have resulted from colliding with a bird, according to Russia’s aviation authority.

While officials haven’t clarified the reasons for the plane’s unexpected route across the sea, drone strikes targeted southern Russia shortly before the incident. Due to prior drone activities, airports in the vicinity had been closed, including the nearest Russian airport on the plane’s original flight path, which remained shut on Wednesday morning.

Footage from the crash showed the aircraft descending rapidly before igniting upon contact with the beach, followed by a thick plume of black smoke. Passengers, injured and bloodied, were observed emerging from a surviving section of the fuselage.

Reuters confirmed the location of the footage, identifying it as the Caspian coast close to Aktau.

The Kazakh emergencies ministry released a statement indicating that firefighters had extinguished the blaze, and the survivors, including two children, were receiving medical care at a local hospital, while efforts to retrieve the deceased bodies were ongoing.

Azerbaijan Airlines reported that the Embraer 190 aircraft was en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in southern Russia. It was forced to make an emergency landing about 1.8 miles from Aktau in Kazakhstan.

“According to preliminary reports, following a bird collision and an onboard emergency, the pilot opted to divert to an alternate airport—Aktau was selected,” stated Russia’s aviation authority via Telegram.

Azerbaijan Airlines announced that it is halting all flights from Baku to the Chechnya region of Russia until a thorough investigation into the crash concludes, as reported by Russia’s state news agency TASS.

Russian airport on flight path was closed

Aktau is situated directly across the Caspian Sea from both Azerbaijan and Russia. Flight tracking services monitored the plane’s northward path along the western shoreline; however, its signal ceased before it reappeared circling near Aktau airport and subsequently crashing on the beach.

In the same time frame, drone strikes were reported in two Russian regions adjacent to Chechnya, namely Ingushetia and North Ossetia, on Wednesday morning.

At Makhachkala airport in Russia, which is the nearest airport to where the flight lost tracking, an official told Reuters that the airport had been closed to incoming flights for several hours on the Wednesday morning. Efforts to connect with officials from Grozny airport were unsuccessful.

The Kazakhstan government announced that it has established a commission to investigate the incident. Members of this commission have been dispatched to the crash site to assist the families of both the deceased and injured.

The government declared its commitment to collaborating with Azerbaijan for the ongoing investigation.

President Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, both conveyed their condolences. Aliyev opted to cut short his visit to Russia, where he was attending a summit, to return home, according to his office’s statement.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-supported leader of Chechnya, also expressed his sympathies. He noted that some hospitalized individuals were in critical condition and mentioned his intentions to pray for their swift recovery.