An Azerbaijan Airlines airliner crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, according to Kazakh authorities, 29 survived. While doubt hangs over the circumstances of the tragedy, witnesses have provided their version of the facts.
Azerbaijan is in mourning. 38 people died in a plane crash. The plane crashed near the Caspian Sea port of Aktau and caught fire. An investigation is underway, while some military and aviation experts put forward the hypothesis of an anti-aircraft missile.
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, 38 people were killed in the crash, and “29 survivors, including three children, were hospitalized”. According to the Azerbaijani agency Azertac, 12 of the survivors are due to return to Azerbaijan on Thursday, December 26.
“Save my mother”
The circumstances of the crash remain unclear. However, witnesses who were near the scene of the tragedy gave their version of the facts to several media. A Kazakh resident, Elmira, testified to the local branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
With others, she ran to the scene to help the survivors. “The front of the plane was on fire. We rescued the survivors. Their bodies were covered in blood. They were crying. Everyone was asking for help”she relates in comments reported by Free Midday.
“A little girl came out. She looked at me and said, 'Save my mother, my mother is still here.' She was crying and begging, 'Save her, save her,' says Elmira.
Another witness who worked at a hotel in Aktau, not far from the accident site, testified in Manorama Online. Jins said the plane crash happened while he was on his way to work with his co-worker.
He remembers that his friend, who was in the car with him, first saw the plane nose down. Shortly after, they heard a loud explosion, which forced them to stop the vehicle, before going to the hospital to give blood to the victims.
