ASTANA, December 27. /TASS/. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev have agreed that the two countries’ government bodies will work closely together in investigating the passenger plane crash near Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, Tokayev’s press office said in a statement.
"The parties agreed that the government structures of the two countries would maintain close cooperation during the investigation into the circumstances of this tragic accident," the statement reads.
According to the statement, Tokayev assured the Azerbaijani president that the Kazakh side would make every effort to ensure a thorough and objective investigation of all circumstances of the incident, and briefed him on the progress of the work of the special state commission tasked with investigating the crash. "The presidents exchanged condolences and offered words of support to the family members and loved ones of the victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the Mangystau Region," the press service added.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. The plane carried 67 people, including 62 passengers, mostly citizens of Azerbaijan, as well as nationals of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and five crew members. According to the latest reports, 38 people, including seven Russians, were killed, while 29 others survived. Nine Russian citizens injured in the crash were transported to Moscow for medical treatment."