Azeri Airline Pauses Flights to South Russia After Deadly Crash

Azerbaijan Airlines suspended flights to two cities in southern Russia after a passenger plane heading in that direction was diverted across the Caspian Sea and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing dozens.

The Embraer SA 190 aircraft was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya region, when it changed course to make an emergency landing in Kazakhstan, the state-owned carrier said in a statement on Wednesday. The Prosecutor General’s Office in Baku said that 32 people had survived. 

The plane came down about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said. Authorities from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan said an investigation is underway and it’s too early to give a reason for the crash.  

The flight had initially been diverted to Makhachkala on Russia’s Caspian Sea coast because of fog, and then on to Aktau, according to the Tass news service. The Kazakh city is about 310 kilometers east of Makhachkala, across the water.

The airline said it’s suspending flights to both Grozny and Makhachkala until the investigation is complete, without giving further explanation. 

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev, who is in charge of the investigation, estimated that 38 people died, according to the Interfax news service. The authorities in his country earlier reported there were 69 people on board, later revising the number to 67.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his trip to Russia for an informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States. His plane was already in Russian airspace when he decided to return home after being informed about the crash, according to Azartac. President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences after opening the summit.