Turkish leader sends heartfelt condolences to Azerbaijani counterpart over Aktau crash

On December 25, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to offer his condolences following the tragic plane crash near Aktau.

According to an official statement posted on the Azerbaijani President's website, Erdogan expressed heartfelt sympathy to both President Aliyev and the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery for the injured, per Caliber.Az.

In response, President Ilham Aliyev thanked Erdogan for his support and kind words during this difficult time.

World leaders from around the globe have extended their condolences to Azerbaijan in the wake of the crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft, which was operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny. Among those expressing their sympathy were:

• Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia
• Sadyr Zhaparov, President of Kyrgyzstan
• Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan
• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan
• Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of Belarus
• Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran
• Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Sergey Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan (Russia)

These leaders, along with various international officials and organizations, took to social media and other platforms to offer their condolences to the families of those who perished and to wish a speedy recovery to the survivors.

The crash occurred on December 25 when the Embraer-190, en route from Baku to Grozny, went down near Aktau while attempting an emergency landing. The aircraft had 67 people aboard, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. The passengers consisted of 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 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 Tamilla Hasanova