An Azerbaijan Airlines flight from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Russia crashed, hospitalizing survivors while dozens are feared dead.

Russia’s Emergency Ministry flew home the eight Russian citizens who survived on Wednesday the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines’ plane near Aktau, the health department of the Mangistau region said in a Thursday statement.

Flight was operating in an area where Moscow’s air defenses have battled Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan to Russia to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. A Kazakh official said 38 people had been killed,

Tengrinews.kz - A commission has been created to investigate the air crash in Aktau, Embraer specialists flew to Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan has published the names of Kazakhstani citizens who died in the plane crash near Aktau.

Several passenger plane crashes have occurred worldwide this year, including a Wednesday morning Azerbaijan Airlines wreck that has left dozens feared dead.

The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet was en route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia. The plane went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after being diverted due to fog. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board the plane, Kazakhstan's transport ministry said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a news conference that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, pointing to bad weather as the reason the plane diverted from its original course. "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people," he said.

A passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia with 67 people on board crashed in Kazakhstan Wednesday, authorities said.

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day has prompted speculation the plane was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes in the fuselage.

Flight was operating in an area where Moscow’s air defenses have battled Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.