At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air with 100 people aboard crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty, local authorities said. The only Chinese passenger onboard was not injured, as the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan confirmed with the Chinese Consulate-General in Almaty.
NUR-SULTAN, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The latest on the plane crash in Kazakhstan's Almaty: (all times local)
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09:09 pm, Dec. 27
Rescuers work at the airplane crash site in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec. 27, 2019. (Kazakh Telegraph Agency/Handout via Xinhua)
At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air with 100 people aboard crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty, local authorities said.
The only Chinese passenger onboard was not injured, as the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan confirmed with the Chinese Consulate-General in Almaty, adding that both the embassy and the consulate-general are maintaining close contact with the local police.
Some 1,000 people and a dozen vehicles have been dispatched to the scene for rescue operations, said the Emergency Situations Committee of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"I express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased citizens when the plane crashed near Almaty this morning," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted. "All those guilty will be severely punished in accordance with the law."
Besides the 12 people killed, around 50 others were hospitalized with injuries, eight of whom were in critical condition, according to a statement by the Health Ministry of Kazakhstan.
Eight of the victims died at the scene, two died while receiving medical treatment at the airport and two at the hospital, said the statement.
The plane was en route from Almaty to the capital city of Nur-Sultan. It took off at 7:05 a.m. local time (0105 GMT) and lost altitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT), the airport said.
The Bek Air Z9-2100 had 95 passengers and five crew members on board. It broke through a concrete fence before colliding with a two-storey building, but did not catch fire.
"Before crashing, the aircraft touched the runway with its tail twice. The gear was retracted," Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar told media.
"A commission will establish whether this was pilot error or technical issues. The runway was in ideal condition," said Sklyar.
The interior ministry said the captain was among those killed.
The aircraft, identified as a Fokker-100, a medium-sized, twin-turbofan jet airliner, was reportedly 23 years old and most recently certified to operate in May.
The company manufacturing the aircraft went bankrupt in 1996 and the production of the Fokker-100 stopped in the following year.
In March this year, an Iran Air Fokker-100 aircraft made an emergency landing due to a failure of one of its hydraulic systems after taking off from Qeshm Island in southern Iran. The plane caught fire, but there were no casualties.
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03:51 pm, Dec. 27
Rescuers work at the air crash site near Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec. 27, 2019. (Kazakhstan Interior Ministry Emergency Situations Committee/Handout via Xinhua)
At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air with 100 people on board crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty, local authorities said.
"I express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased citizens when the plane crashed near Almaty this morning," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted. "All those guilty will be severely punished in accordance with the law."
According to a statement by the Health Ministry of Kazakhstan, 12 people were killed and around 50 others hospitalized with injuries, ten of whom were in critical conditions.
Local authorities had earlier put the death toll at 15, but the ministry later revised the figure downward, without explaining.
According to the statement, eight of the victims died at the scene, two died while receiving medical treatment at the airport and two at the hospital.
The plane was en route from Almaty to the capital city of Nur-Sultan. It took off at 7:05 a.m. local time (0105 GMT) and lost altitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT), the airport said.
The Bek Air Z9-2100 had 95 passengers and five crew members on board. It broke through a concrete fence before colliding with a two-storey building, but did not catch fire.
The aircraft, identified as a Fokker-100, a medium-sized, twin-turbofan jet airliner, was reportedly 23 years old and most recently certified to operate in May. The company manufacturing the aircraft went bankrupt in 1996 and the production of the Fokker-100 stopped the following year.
Tokayev declared Dec. 28 a national day of mourning, and ordered Prime Minister Askar Mamin to form a commission to investigate the crash.
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11:34 am, Dec. 27
Photo provided by Kazakh authorities shows a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty. (Credit: The Emergency Situations Committee of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs)
At least 14 people were killed after a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air with 100 people on board crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty, local authorities said.
The aircraft crashed outside the airport shortly after taking off, according to a statement of the Almaty International Airport. Rescue operation is underway and medical people are working on the site.
The plane was flying from Almaty to the capital city of Nur-Sultan. It took off at 7:05 a.m. local time (0105 GMT) and lost altitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT), the airport said.
According to Almaty's city government, the accident caused 14 deaths and around 20 others have been hospitalized with serious conditions.
The Bek Air Z9-2100 had 95 passengers and five crew members on board. It broke through a concrete fence before colliding with a two-storey building, but did not catch fire.
Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin has ordered the formation of a commission to investigate the crash.
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10:42 am, Dec. 27
At least seven people were killed after a plane of Kazakh airline Bek Air with 100 people on board crashed early Friday near the country's biggest city of Almaty, the Interior Ministry said.
The aircraft crashed outside the airport shortly after taking off, according to a statement of the Almaty Airport. Rescue operation is underway and medical people are working on the site.
The plane was flying from Almaty to the capital city of Nur-Sultan. It disappeared from the radar at 7:22 a.m. local time (0122 GMT), the airport said.
The plane had 95 passengers and five crew members on board. It broke through a concrete fence before colliding with a two-storey building.
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9:00 am, Dec. 27
#BREAKING: Plane of Bek Air airline with 100 on board crashed -- Almaty airport ■
