Dozens Dead After Plane Crashes on Christmas Day: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

Dozens have died after a passenger plane crashed on Christmas Day.

According to theBBC, the Azerbaijan Airlines flight had been traveling from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia when it caught fire as it made an emergency landing near Aktau in Kazakhstan.

The outlet, citing local officials, reported that dozens of people had been killed in the crash.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on Dec. 25, 2024.Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty

Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty

TheAssociated Pressreported that Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement that 67 people, including five crew, were on board the plane.

PEOPLE has contacted Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry, Azerbaijan Airlines and The Ministry of Digital Development and Transportation of the Republic of Azerbaijan for comment.

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The scene of the crash in Kazakhstan.Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty

In an initialstatementshared on X (formerly known as Twitter) and translated to English, the airline wrote, “According to preliminary information, the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian citizens, 6 Kazakh citizens, and 3 Kyrgyz citizens.”

Azerbaijan Airlines flight crash on Dec. 25, 2024.Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty

Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty

According to CNN andReuters, a video showed the aircraft circling before hitting the ground and bursting into flames. Passengers covered in blood were also seen coming out of the wreckage shortly after.

source: people.com