Authorities said at least 15 people were confirmed dead following the crash of a passenger plane near Almaty in Kazakhstan. Five crew members and 93 passengers were on board when the jet crashed shortly after take-off on Friday.
According to Reuters, one of the survivors told local news site Tengrinews that she heard a "terrifying sound" before technical difficulty calls were made. The downed Fokker aircraft was supposed to land on Nur-Sultan but it "lost altitude during takeoff," the local Civil Aviation Committee explained.
Business Aslan Nazaraliyev, another survivor, told the Vremya newspaper that he felt the plane start to fall "not vertically" but a particular angle, adding that it appeared as if the plane was out of control.
At the moment, domestic operator of Fokker 100 jets, Bek Air, has not been reached for a comment. On the other hand, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, took to Twitter to express his condolences.
Tokayev also said that whoever is "responsible will face tough punishment in accordance with the law." The crash site has been cordoned off by local authorities and immediate investigative results have not been released yet.
As part of the efforts to find out how the Fokker 100 plane lost altitude and system control, Tokayev said a government board has been established to investigate the matter.
It was only confirmed that around 66 people were taken to the hospital, with some of them being in critical condition. It remains to be seen whether the death and injury count will increase throughout the day.
In a video posted by The Guardian, rescue teams can be seen rummaging through the side of the downed plane, while the footage also indicated that flight number Z92100 may have collided with a wall or building.
Bek Air only said it will halt all flights using the Fokker 100 as investigations on the crash have yet to reveal what really caused the issue and whether the jet in question requires further review.
The New York Times reported that several witnesses said ambulances did not arrive at the scene as soon as expected. While 14 people were declared dead at the scene, the 15th victim passed away at the hospital, and five others were in grave condition.
In photos uploaded by Kazakh news sites, it can be seen that fuselage of the crashed Fokker 100 jet was ripped. Other pieces of the jet were also seen scattered around the crash site, with rescue and emergency teams combing through the wreckage.
People were heard screaming and crying in one video of the crash. However, no rescue teams were present around 20 minutes after the plane crashed. "Where is the ambulance," a woman said in the footage.
