A Kazakhstan Border Guards Antonov An-26 crashed at Almaty Airport, killing four of the six occupants.
“Today, at around 5:20 p.m. [11:20 GMT], an An-26 flight from Nur Sultan to Almaty lost contact during landing in Almaty Airport. The alarm was raised immediately, and the airport’s emergency rescue services were dispatched to the scene. According to preliminary data, the plane crashed at the edge of the runway strip,” the airport said on Facebook.
The airport’s press service said that the plane belonged to the National Security Committee’s border service and had six people on board.
According to Almaty’s Health Department, two out of six people on board have survived the crash and were already hospitalised.
The Kazakh Ministry of Emergencies confirmed to Sputnik that the remaining four people died.
“Ten emergency ambulance teams are working at the scene. According to preliminary data, four people died, while the two survivors were taken to the nearest hospital with injuries,” the ministry said.
According to local TV channel 24kz, flights from Almaty to Aktau, Nur-Sultan, Kokshetau and Uralsk are being delayed because of the crash.
Eyewitness footage purportedly filmed near the crash site showed smoke billowing in the distance. The aircraft, on its way from the capital Nur-Sultan, reportedly crashed when attempting to make a landing at the runway.
The reasons for the crash are currently being investigated.
The An-26 normally requires a crew of five and has the capacity to fly 40 passengers. It has two turboprop engines, weighs 15 tons, and has a range of 1,100 km when fully loaded.
