NUR-SULTAN, December 27. /TASS/. Twelve people have been killed in Friday’s plane crash near Kazakhstan’s Almaty, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar told reporters at a news conference.
"Those were mainly passengers who were in the nose [of the aircraft]. A total of 12 people were killed in the accident, eight of them died at the scene, two people died in the hospital and two others at Almaty airport," he said.
According to Sklyar, 49 people were hospitalized, 18 of them are in critical condition. Earlier reports said that the death toll had climbed to 15.
He added that the runway at the airport was in perfect condition during takeoff.
There were 95 passengers and five crewmembers onboard the plane.
The Bek Air plane en route from Almaty to Nur-Sultan crashed shortly after takeoff outside the Almaty airport early Friday. The plane lost altitude and crashed into a concrete structure.
The Bek Air fleet consists of Fokker 100 planes. Until the reasons of the crash are established, use of other aircraft of this type has been temporarily suspended. A governmental commission has been set up to investigate the reasons of the crash.