An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau in Kazakhstan during an emergency landing on Wednesday, killing 38 people.
Rescuers reported 29 survivors from the 62 passengers and five crew members on the flight from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in southern Russia.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of kilometres off its scheduled route when it crashed on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea.
The Embraer 190 aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing approximately 3km from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said. A video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames as it hit the seashore, with thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said: “This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people."
Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry said fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors, including two children, were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Russian news agency Interfax quoted medical workers as saying that four bodies have been recovered and emergency workers at the scene as saying that both pilots died in the crash, according to a preliminary assessment.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Interfax reported.
Russia's aviation watchdog said the crash may have been caused by a bird strike. "Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board, its commander decided to 'go' to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen," it said on Telegram.
The crash site was hundreds of kilometres off the plane's scheduled route. Commercial aviation-tracking websites tracked the flight flying north on its scheduled route along the west coast before its flight path was no longer recorded. It then reappeared on the east coast, circling near Aktau airport, before crashing into the beach.
Officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash came shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has shut airports in the area in the past. An official at Makhachkala airport in Russia on the east coast of the Caspian, the airport closest to where the flight disappeared from tracking, told Reuters it had been closed to incoming traffic for several hours on Wednesday morning.
Authorities in two Russian regions adjacent to Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, reported drone strikes on Wednesday morning.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said a government commission had been set up to investigate what had happened and its members ordered to fly to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and injured were getting the help they needed.
Kazakhstan would co-operate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, the government said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences, as did Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, who decided to return home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, his office said.
President Sheikh Mohamed also sent condolences to President Aliyev.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences and said some of those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition.
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'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
Engine: 5-litre V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 505Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km
Price: Dh260,500
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
'My Son'
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Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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