Horror moment plane with 67 onboard crashes in fireball explosion in Kazakhstan with dozens feared dead in Xmas disaster
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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. Heart-stopping footage shows the Embraer aircraft nosediving before smashing into the ground near Aktau in western Kazakhstan.
![[The plane can be seen nosediving before the crash]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/c907cab4-0fa6-4730-8d5a-7a4a40b48ae0_01ded2.jpg?strip=all&w=247)
The plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, had 62 passengers and five crew members on board. Among them were at least 60 Russian nationals, heading to Grozny, the capital of Russia's Chechnya region—an area under the control of Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov.
![[The moment the aircraft hit the ground before it burst in flames]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/69dda84e-70ca-49ae-9181-f11aad1a0f1e_643ad5.jpg?strip=all&w=315)
Its fiery descent saw it breaking into several parts upon crash landing. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, battling towering flames and thick plumes of black smoke rising ominously into the sky. Authorities said that 28 people were miraculously pulled alive from the wreckage, but seven are reported to be in critical condition.
![[The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR crashed during an emergency landing in Aktau, Kazakhstan]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/8824fda6-64e7-4e68-a45b-a7108980095d.jpg?strip=all&w=632)
The Central Asian country's emergencies ministry said in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors were being treated at a nearby hospital. Two of the hospitalised survivors are children, believed to be girls aged 11 and 16.
![[Dozens are now feared dead as the plane attempted to land at Aktau in western Kazakhstan]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/drone-view-shows-crash-site-959724896.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“They are receiving all the necessary medical care in hospitals in the region,” said the Ministry of Health. “23 ambulance teams were mobilised to the scene of the incident.”. On board the plane were two children aged 11, one aged 16, and one 17.
