The bodies of seven victims have been identified following the plane crash near Aktau, as reported by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan.

“The bodies of seven individuals have been identified. Additionally, yesterday, the search and rescue team discovered the black box. A round-the-clock duty has been organized at the site of the incident,”
informed the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan.

The agency also provided a timeline of events:

On December 25 at 11:00 AM, information was received regarding an emergency situation involving an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft en route from Baku to Grozny. Emergency response forces and resources from Kazakhstan were promptly dispatched to the Aktau airport area.

At 11:30 AM, reports came in about the plane crash occurring three kilometers from the airport. As a result, the fuselage of the aircraft broke into two transverse sections (with a distance of 300 meters between the wreckage), followed by a fire in the cockpit area.

At 11:35 AM, the arriving rescuers began extinguishing the fire, and by 12:05 PM, it was completely extinguished. The total area of the crash site was 4,200 square meters.

There were 67 passengers on board the aircraft, including five crew members. Only 29 individuals survived, including three minors.

“We have discovered 38 deceased individuals, and their bodies have been delivered to the forensic examination center, among them six citizens of Kazakhstan and three crew members. The bodies of seven individuals have been identified,”
added the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Emergency response headquarters and hotline phones continue to operate at the command center in Astana and the Department of Emergency Situations of the Mangystau region: (8-7172-55-96-21, 8-7172-55-96-83, 8-7292-31-90-91). A total of 1,063 calls have been received on the hotline.