Baku, Dec 25 || Azerbaijan has declared Thursday a national day of mourning for the victims of the tragic crash of an Embraer 190 passenger plane operating a Baku-Grozny flight.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an official order to observe the day of mourning in response to the tragedy on Wednesday.
Aliyev, who was in Russia's airspace en route to St. Petersburg for a summit at the time, ordered his flight to return upon learning of the accident.
The aircraft with flight number J2-8243 crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) has reported 28 survivors, while rescue operations are underway.
There were 67 people onboard, including 62 passengers and five crew members, Azerbaijan Airlines said on X, news agency reported.
Kazakh media said the passengers aboard included 37 citizens from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, six from Kazakhstan, and three from Kyrgyzstan.
The initial cause of the tragedy appears to be a bird strike.