IGORA /Leningrad Region/, December 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to the families of those killed in a plane crash near Aktau.

"A tragedy occurred today in Aktau. A plane crashed, people died, there are many wounded. On your behalf, I would like to express condolences to the families of those killed and all those injured. Let’s hope for their recovery," the Russian leader said, opening an informal meeting between leaders of CIS member states.

Putin said that in the morning he talked to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "who has almost arrived [in St. Petersburg] but had to turn around and return to Baku," because the plane that crashed belonged to an Azerbaijani airline. "I will reiterate: let’s hope for the swiftest recovery of those injured," the Russian leader added.

An Embraer 190 passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), which was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Chechnya, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau earlier on Wednesday. According to preliminary reports, there were 69 people on board the plane, nationals of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. According to the office of Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general, 32 people survived, while Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry reports 29 survivors.