| Azeri Passenger Plane Crashes With 23 On Board |
An Azeri passenger plane with 23 people on board crashed late on Friday soon after take off from the Caucasus state's capital Baku, the national airline said.
It was not immediately clear if anyone had survived.
The Antonov An-140 aircraft, bound for the Kazakh city of Aktau, disappeared from radar screens soon after take-off from Baku, a spokesman for national flagship carrier AZAL said.
"The plane crashed somewhere along the coastal line of the Caspian Sea. A search is under way," he added. "According to preliminary information the plane had 18 passengers and five crew on board."
Azerbaijan, situated on the Caspian Sea, is a former Soviet republic with a thriving oil and gas industry.
Russia's RIA news agency said the plane had crashed near the village of Kyurdakhany some 15 km (10 miles) from Baku. The AZAL spokesman denied this.
There have been no reports on any possible cause of the crash.
The An-140 is a relatively new short-range passenger plane designed in the 1990s. The aircraft, which has two propeller engines and can carry up to 52 passengers, is produced jointly by Ukraine and Russia.
|
| Posted on Monday, December 26 @ 15:01:16 PST by akzah |
|
| |
| :: Article Rating |
Average Score: 0
Votes: 0
|
|
|
