Azerbaijan Airlines tragedy: 32 passengers rescued, flight attempted several emergency landing before crashing

The Embraer 190 plane was en route from Azerbaijan's capital Baku to Grzony in Russia's Chechnya but was rerouted due to fog in Grozny.

The plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was carrying 62 passengers and five crew on board.

Several viral videos of the incident have gone viral on social media where the flight could be seen bursting into flames after crashing to the ground.

Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement as quoted by Sputnik news agency: "A plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed at the Aktau airport. Fifty-two personnel and 11 units of equipment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan arrived in Aktau at the crash site."

"Upon arrival, the aircraft was found to be on fire. Rescue units began extinguishing the fire," the statement said.

According to Russian media reports, the survivors have been taken to hospital.

In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said: "Additional information will be provided to the public regarding the incident."

In the statement posted on Facebook, the Airlines said flight J2-8243 was en-route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia when it crashed approximately 3 km from Aktau.

The airline, however, said no children were flying in the plane.

In an X post, the Airlines said: "There were 67 people on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. There were no children among the passengers, and information about the injured will be provided shortly. According to the information, there are survivors who are receiving initial medical assistance."

The crash took place near the airport. Before the crash, the flight reportedly took several circles, requesting an emergency landing, but it stalled.

According to the Kazakh transport ministry, 37 passengers were from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, AFP reported.

The plane transmitted a distress signal before the crash due to a collision with a flock of birds and a steering malfunction. The pilots tried to gain speed and altitude till the very end, but the controls failed, said reports.

"The Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, flight numbered J2-8243 on the Baku-Grozny route, made an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometres near the city of Aktau. Additional information regarding the incident will be provided to the public," Azerbaijan Airlines said.

Visuals showed ambulances at the crash site and some people were being rescued and deboarding from the emergency exit located at the rear end of the aircraft.

Data from the online flight tracking website, FlightRadar24, showed the aircraft flying over the Caspian Sea and heading towards its destination, in Chechnya.