Oxygen cylinder blows up on board AZAL plane that crashed in Kazakhstan - transport minister

ASTANA. Dec 26 (Interfax) - An oxygen cylinder has blown up on board an AZAL plane that crashed in Kazakhstan's Aktau while en route from Baku to Grozny, Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev said.

"The crew failed to steadily maintain the course and altitude. The Rostov dispatcher said that after providing data on the weather in Makhachkala and Baku, the crew decided to fly to Aktau. The Rostov flight controller gave additional information to the Aktau flight controller at 10:53 a.m. that an oxygen cylinder blew up on board the aircraft in the passenger cabin, passengers were losing consciousness and he requested resuscitation upon arrival," Karabayev said at a press briefing in Aktau on Thursday.

"Following that, the head of Kazaeronavigatsia [Kazakhstan's air navigation services provider] immediately notified all emergency services of the arrival of a distressed aircraft at Aktau Airport," he added.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer en route from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau on Wednesday. There were 67 people, including five crewmembers, onboard, among them 42 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan, and three of Kyrgyzstan. Thirty-eight died in the plane's crash.