Kazakhstan: The New Battleground for West, Russia, and China After Ukraine and Israel
Kazakhstan's growing significance as a geopolitical battleground between the West, Russia, and China, following Israel and Ukraine's dynamics.
At least 14 people were dead after a Bek Air plane with 95 passengers and five crew members on board crashed near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday, according to Central Asian country.
The plane was heading for the capital, Nur-Sultan, and “lost altitude during takeoff and broke through a concrete fence” before hitting a two-storey building, Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement.
There was no fire upon impact.
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Emergency service personnel have rushed to the scene and seven deaths have been confirmed.
Survivors were being evacuated, the airport said.
The plane belonged to Kazakh carrier Bek Air, which operates a fleet of Fokker 100 jets.
According to the aviation committee, it was suspending all flights of that type of aircraft pending an investigation.
Taking to Twitter, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, saying, “Those responsible will face tough punishment in accordance with the law”.
Bek Air was founded in 1999, targeting VIP flight operations, according to the company’s website.
Nowadays, the company describes itself as Kazakhstan’s first low-cost airline. Its fleet is seven Fokker-100 aircraft.
(With inputs from agency)
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