Kazakhstan: Plane with nearly 100 people on board crashes
https://www.dw.com/en/kazakhstan-plane-with-nearly-100-people-on-board-crashes/a-51804609
Kazakhstan: Plane with nearly 100 people on board crashes
A plane with 98 people on board crashed on Friday morning in southeastern Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh carrier Bek Air jet was heading to Nur-Sultan formerly known as Astana the nation's capital city.
Carrying 93 passengers and five crew, the Fokker 100 took off from Almaty International Airport at 7:05 a.m local time (0105 UTC) and lost altitude a few minutes later.
At least 12 people died in the incident. At least 49 people were hospitalized with injuries.
Authorities were investigating whether the crash was caused by pilot error or a technical problem.
After the plane lost altitude, it broke through a concrete fence and hit a two-story building, Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement.
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Thomas said countless lives were saved by the fact that the fuel tank of the famously robust Fokker model did not rupture.
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