Mangystau authorities pledge any assistance to relatives of injured and deceased

The Akim of the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan promised to provide assistance and shared a phone number for relatives of the deceased and injured who may come to Aktau.

“We will provide all the necessary assistance. Relatives on the list. Surely, they don’t have acquaintances or friends here. Almost all of them are foreigners. If you are planning to come to Aktau, take note of this phone number: +7 702 525 31 01. Help is available 24/7 at this number. The only requirement is to specify whose relative you are,” he said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh media.

According to him, assistance with food and accommodation will be provided to all victims' relatives.

On December 25, the Embraer-190 aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau while attempting an emergency landing. A total of 67 people were on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. According to AZAL's press service, the passengers included 37 from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan, and 3 from Kyrgyzstan.

Immediately after receiving the information about the crash, President Aliyev, who was en route on board a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend an informal CIS heads of state summit, decided to return to Baku to oversee the national response efforts. He expressed deep condolences to the families affected and pledged full support to the survivors.

Following the President's instructions, a high-level delegation has been sent to Aktau to investigate the cause of the crash and provide necessary assistance to the impacted families. The delegation includes officials such as the Minister of Digital Development and Transport, the Minister of Emergency Situations, the Deputy Prosecutor General, the Deputy Minister of Health, the Deputy Director of the State Civil Aviation Agency, and the Vice President of AZAL.

To honour the victims, President Aliyev declared December 26 a national day of mourning in Azerbaijan.

By Khagan Isayev