Plane crash in Aktau: bodies of 7 people identified

Tengrinews.kz - Dismantling of the structure has begun of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which crashed on December 25 in Aktau, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
306 people are involved in the liquidation of the consequences. As Ministry of Emergency Situations noted, dog handlers were also involved.
As a result of emergency rescue operations, 29 people were rescued and hospitalized in medical institutions of Aktau, including 3 minors.

"According to updated data, 38 bodies of the deceased were found, which were delivered to the forensic center, including 6 citizens of Kazakhstan and 3 crew members. The bodies of 7 people have been identified," the report says.

Also, as a result of the search group, the rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations found a black box. A round-the-clock duty was organized at the scene of the incident. Currently, a government commission is in the city of Aktau to investigate the causes of the accident. A total of 1032 calls were received on the hotline, emergency psychological assistance and information lines.
Earlier, the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, flying from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia), crashed three kilometers from Aktau at 11:30 AM local time on December 25. The passenger flight was unable to land in Grozny due to heavy fog, first it was redirected to Makhachkala, and then to Aktau.

There are several versions of the cause of the crash. According to one version, the crash was caused by a collision of the plane with a flock of birds. Other media outlets report that an oxygen tank exploded on board. The Embraer lost control and crashed when it was less than 3 minutes away from Aktau Airport.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, there were 69 people on board, including 5 crew members:

42 citizens of Azerbaijan;
16 citizens of Russia;
6 citizens of Kazakhstan;
3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan;
two unidentified women of unknown citizenship, one about 32 years old, the other about 40 years old.

Azerbaijan Airlines also published a full list of passengers.
According to the latest data, there are 29 survivors, citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
What is known about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed near Aktau?
The aircraft that crashed near Aktau was an Embraer ERJ-190, a twin-engine jet widely used for short and medium-haul flights. The aircraft are manufactured by a Brazilian company. The ERJ-190 (E190) is designed to carry between 96 and 114 passengers, depending on the cabin configuration. These aircraft can fly up to 4500 kilometers.
On December 26, residents of the Mangystau region saw off nine Russian citizens injured in the plane crash in Aktau to Moscow, according to the press service of the regional akimat (local government administration).