AZAL plane crash survivor discharged from hospital after recovery PHOTO

Mahir Jafarov, a resident of the village of Danachi in Azerbaijan’s Zagatala region, has been discharged from a medical facility in Baku after surviving the AZAL plane crash that occurred on December 25, 2024, near Aktau, Kazakhstan. 

Jafarov regained consciousness four days after the December incident and has now returned to his home village, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The survivor recounted his experience, though he admitted his memories of the crash are unclear. 

“I bought a ticket for a flight to Grozny on December 25. We boarded the plane in Baku, and the flight was supposed to take about an hour. When the plane began descending, we heard a loud noise. At that moment, we couldn’t understand what had happened. After some time, the pilot attempted to land again, but it didn’t succeed. What happened afterward, I don’t remember. I only regained consciousness when I was being transported from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. I remember being in intensive care,” he explained.

Jafarov expressed gratitude for the comprehensive state support he and other survivors received during their recovery.

On December 25, 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, an Embraer 190AR aircraft, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, during an emergency landing attempt. The flight was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. Of the 67 individuals on board—62 passengers and 5 crew members—38 perished, and 29 survived. Of the five crew members, two lost their lives while three survived.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the aircraft was struck by a Russian surface-to-air missile during efforts to repel a Ukrainian drone attack over Chechnya.

On December 28, the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan had a telephone conversation. Vladimir Putin expressed condolences and apologised to Ilham Aliyev for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace. The Azerbaijani president demanded Putin bring to justice those responsible and provide compensation to Baku, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members.

By Khagan Isayev