By Mariya Gordeyeva ASTANA (Reuters) -An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced,

An Embraer passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, after diverting from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks.

The wrecked tail section of the plane can be seen at the crash site, as emergency services worked to extinguish a fire.

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet flying from the capital Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, the Kazakh

ALMATY | Xinhua | A passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines from Baku to Grozny crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) said. The Embraer 190 aircraft with flight number J2-8243 crashed near Aktau Airport.

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.