Government sources told Euronews that the plane had requested an emergency landing at several Russian airports but was reportedly denied permission, forcing the pilots to continue toward Aktau.

Officials say an Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry now saying that at least 28 people survived the crash, which could mean that over 30 people are likely dead.

Azerbaijan has requested an expert group from Turkiye to investigate the plane crash near Kazakhstan’s Aktau. The group has already departed for the site