Heartbreaking footage has emerged of the Azerbaijani plane which crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people.
The flight from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus was diverted and the plane attempted to make an emergency landing 3km from Aktau.
There were 29 survivors of the crash, with 67 onboard in total
Speaking at a news conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: “The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing."
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It's unclear what caused the pilot to attempt an emergency landing, but Russia's aviation watchdog said preliminary reports suggested it may have been a bird strike, CNN reports.
According to Kazakh officials, those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals.
At the time of writing, 27 passengers are reported to have survived the devastating ordeal, while 38 lost their lives.
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Because the plane burst into flames when it crashed, the deceased were discovered 'in poor condition'.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said: "The bodies are in poor condition, mostly burnt, all collected.
"Now they will be in the morgue, and identification will take place."
Of the survivors, only one remains unidentified.
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"She is unconscious, has no documents, and is in the hospital," Bozumbayev said of the woman in question.
Mobile phone footage circulating online of the fatal crash appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft lying upside in the grass.
The footage corresponded to the plane’s colours and its registration number.
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Warning: Distressing content
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure eight once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground.
FlightRadar24 separately said in an online post that the aircraft had faced 'strong GPS jamming', which 'made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data', referring to the information that allows flight-tracking websites to follow planes in flight.
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Russia has been blamed in the past for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.
Azerbaijan’s state news agency, Azertac, said that an official delegation of Azerbaijan’s emergency situations minister, the deputy general prosecutor and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines were sent to Aktau to conduct an 'on-site investigation'.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities have announced that they are investigating the crash as well.
Today, December 26, has been declared as a day of mourning in Azerbaijan by President Ilham Aliyev.
Topics: News, Travel, World News, Russia
Niamh Shackleton