Plane crashes near Aktau, Kazakhstan - Emergency Situations Ministry

ASTANA/BAKU. Dec 25 (Interfax) - A plane has crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan, and rescuers are putting out the fire, the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry's press service said on Wednesday.

"Fifty-two employees and 11 vehicles of the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry have arrived at the plane crash scene in Aktau. They found the plane burning upon arrival," the press service said.

According to the Kazakh state-run news agency Kazinform, the plane was en route from Baku to Grozny.

Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), which crashed in Kazakhstan, had 67 people onboard.

"There were 67 people onboard, including 62 passengers and five crewmembers. There were no children onboard. Information about casualties will be provided shortly. According to the preliminary information, there are survivors, they are receiving first aid," AZAL said.

Contact is being established with Kazakhstan at the crash scene, and support is being provided by Kazakh emergency services, it said.

Twenty-five people who survived the plane crash near Aktau have been brought to the hospital, the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry said.

"Twenty-five people have now been delivered to the hospital," it said.

A mechanical failure could have caused the crash of a Baku-Grozny plane in Kazakhstan, a source in the emergency services told Interfax.

"Before the crash, the crew told air traffic controllers that a key system had failed. It sent the May Day signal before the plane disappeared from the radar," the source said.

"Hence, a mechanical failure is the main line of investigation for now," the source said.