“I opened my eyes and asked where I was, they told me in Aktau“ - surviving flight attendant
In an interview with the Oxu.az portal, Aidan Ragimli said that there was a blow during the flight.
"After the first blow, the oxygen masks opened, and when we tried to address the passengers, there was a second blow," the woman recalls.
Photo: Video screenshot of Aidan Ragimli
She said that during the second blow, another flight attendant, Zulfugar Asadov, was wounded in the left hand.
"I tried to help him. We went to the tail of the plane, sat there in the place designated for flight attendants, and put on oxygen masks. I gave him first aid. We were in contact with the senior flight attendant the whole time. A piece of shrapnel hit the plane. The oxygen tank explosion is incorrect information. If the oxygen tank had exploded, we would not have survived. When I opened my eyes and asked where I was, they told me that I was in Aktau," Aidan Ragimli said.
Baku-Grozny plane crash near Aktau: What happened?
On December 25, a passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines, flight AHY8243, crashed near Aktau.
The plane took off at 08:49 A.M. Astana time from Baku airport, 11 minutes earlier than scheduled. Due to thick fog in Grozny, the plane was first rerouted to Makhachkala, and then to Aktau. Flying over the Caspian Sea, the crew gave the signal "emergency" (squawk 7700). The pilots requested an emergency landing, and the airport was preparing to accept the aircraft, but at 11:30 A.M. the plane crashed 3 kilometers from the airport.
The official cause of the incident remains unknown. Various theories are circulating in the media, including a bird strike in the aircraft's engine or an oxygen cylinder explosion in the cabin. The black box was recovered the same evening, and experts will now work on decoding its data.
Investigation
An interdepartmental investigative and operational group has been formed under the leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan. The group includes specialists from the Transport Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The investigation is under the personal supervision of the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Internal Affairs. Specialists from Embraer have flown to Kazakhstan.
Number of passengers on board
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
Among the survivors are citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. According to our information, as of now, 29 people survived the crash, but some are in critical condition. There are no Kazakhstani survivors.
List of deceased Kazakhstani citizens:
Sandibek Ekibaevich Tulesinov, born on 16.11.1988, originally from the Mangystau Region, resided in Zhanaozen.
Bauyrzhan Jumabaevich Jumagulov, born on 30.09.1985, originally from the Mangystau Region, resided in Zhanaozen.
Galina Rustambekovna Makhsudova, born on 12.01.1978, originally from the Mangystau Region, resided in Aktau.
Gaukhar Zhumagatovna Shaimerdenova, born on 17.07.1975, originally from Almaty, resided in Astana.
Eldar Zhumagat, son of Gaukhar Shaimerdenova, born on 23.08.2013, resided in Astana.
Salima Amanzholovna Jutaeva, born on 21.02.1995, originally from the Kostanay Region, resided in Karaganda.
Nine injured Russian citizens were sent to Moscow on the morning of December 26. Survivors of the incident from Azerbaijan will also be transported home. Among the survivors are two crew members—flight attendants Aidan Ragimli and Zulfugar Asadov. Both are conscious. The flight attendant was previously shown in a video.