The plane hit a fence then struck a two-story building, according to officials.
December 27, 2019, 8:31 AM
4 min read
A commercial airplane carrying 98 people crashed during takeoff from an airport in Kazakhstan early Friday morning, according to authorities.
At least 12 people were killed, according to the Associated Press, which earlier reported that there were 15 dead.
A statement posted online by officials at Almaty International Airport about three hours after the crash said that 14 were dead at the crash site, but officials later revised that figure downward, the AP reported.
In this handout photo provided by the Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, police and rescuers work on the side of a plane crash near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 27, 2019.
In this handout photo provided by the Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, police and rescuers work on the side of a plane crash near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 27, 2019.AP
At least 49 people survived the crash but were hospitalized with injuries, the AP reported. Twenty-two of those were in "extremely severe" condition, airport officials said.
Around 1,000 emergency personnel responded to the snow-covered site of the crash, according to the AP.
The plane was en route from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to the country's capital of Nursultan, according to the BBC.
The Fokker-100 aircraft lost altitude during takeoff and struck a concrete fence then collided with a two-story building, according to a statement by the Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development.
Emergency and security personnel are seen at the site of a plane crash near Almaty, Kazakhstan, December 27, 2019.
Emergency and security personnel are seen at the site of a plane crash near Almaty, Kazakhstan, December 27, 2019.Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters
Photos of the aircraft after the crash appeared to show both the front of the plane and the tail section had separated from the fuselage during impact.
No fire was reported as a result of the crash.
The Bek Air aircraft was carrying 93 passengers and five crew members, according to airport officials. The weather at the time of takeoff was clear, with mild sub-zero temperatures that are common at this time of year, the AP reported.
All flights in and out of Almaty International Airport were suspended following the accident, and all Bek Air and Fokker-100 flights in Kazakhstan were suspended pending an investigation of the crash, authorities said.
