Passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan with dozens aboard

LONDON -- An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau Airport close to the Caspian Sea on Wednesday morning, Kazakh authorities said, with up to 42 people feared dead.

The aircraft was was flying from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia, the Transport Ministry said in a post to its official Telegram channel.

"According to preliminary information from the Azerbaijani side, there were 62 passengers and five crew members on board," the ministry said.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a post to Telegram that 25 people survived the crash, 22 of whom were hospitalized.

Among the passengers were 37 Azerbaijani citizens, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, the Transport Ministry said, citing "preliminary data."

Azerbaijan Airlines said in a post to X that the aircraft "made an emergency landing" around 2 miles from Aktau. The aircraft was an Embraer 190 model with flight number J2-8243

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.