A passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan following a sudden fall, resulting in the death of more than half of its passengers.

The Kazakh Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday the crash of a passenger plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines near the city of Aktau, located in western Kazakhstan. The aircraft was en route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when the incident occurred.

According to a statement from the Kazakh Ministry of Transport, the plane was carrying 72 passengers, including 5 crew members. The Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that only 28 of those on board were able to survive, including two children, with six in extremely critical condition, and they have been taken to the hospital.

The Azerbaijani news agency APA reported, citing the Kazakh Air Navigation Services Company Kazaeronavigatsia, that the plane's pilot and co-pilot declared an emergency after colliding with a flock of birds, resulting in a loss of control during the aircraft's landing.

The Kazakh government announced that it is cooperating with Azerbaijan to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all possible causes that may have led to the incident. A governmental committee has been formed, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, the governor of the Mangystau region, and officials from various ministries, to oversee the investigation.

It is noteworthy that the aircraft was an Embraer E190AR model from the Brazilian company Embraer, and the flight number was AHY8243.