THIS is the terrifying moment a passenger plane plunged from the sky, erupting into a fireball in a devastating Christmas Day crash that has left dozens feared dead.
There were 105 passengers and five crew members on board the fight from Azerbaijan capital Baku to Russian city Grozny.
East2west NewsThe plane can be seen nosediving before the crash[/caption]
East2west NewsThe moment the aircraft hit the ground before it burst in flames[/caption]
X / @BNODeskThe Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR crashed during an emergency landing in Aktau, Kazakhstan[/caption]
The aircraft was engulfed by a fireball as it crashed on Christmas DayEast2West
Dozens are now feared dead as the plane attempted to land at Aktau in western KazakhstanEast2West
Earlier reports had suggested 67 on board.
The plane was in flames and broke into several parts on landing in Aktau in western Kazakhstan.
Officials in Kazakhstan saying 12 people, including a child, have miraculously survived the devastating fireball crash but some were in a critical condition.
The Embraer E190AR with registration number 4K-AZ65 sent out a distress signal at an altitude of 2,125 feet over the Caspian Sea.
Reports said the plane collided with a bird and suffered a steering failure.
It is seen coming in steeply, descending with its nose pointing down too steeply.
It attempted to land at Aktau in western Kazakhstan after being rerouted from Grozny and another Russian city Makhachkala due to bad weather.
Kazaeronavigatsiya – the Kazakhstan air navigation service – said: “An Embraer 190 AHY8243 aircraft travelling on the Baku-Grozny route declared an emergency situation due to collision with a bird and violation of steering control….
“The aircraft was carrying 105 passengers and five crew members.”
Another report said it hit a flock of birds.
At least 60 Russians were reported to be on board.
Grozny – the destination – is the capital of the Chechnya republic, a Russian region controlled by Vladimir Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov which regularly sends troops to fight in the war against Ukraine.
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Giant plumes of black smoke could be seen going up in the sky after the horror crashEast2West
East2WestEmergency services trying to put out the fire[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
