A passenger plane with about 100 people on board crashed near the city of Alma Ata in Kazakhstan yesterday after taking off and crashing into a house, in an accident that killed 12 people and wounded dozens.
The Fokker 100, operated by Beck Air, faced a problem shortly after take-off from Alma Ata, the commercial center of Kazakhstan, on its way to the capital, Nur Sultan, before dawn.
"The plane tilted to the left and then to the right, then it started to vibrate while it was still trying to rise," businessman Aslan Nazar Aliyev, who survived the accident, told Reuters.
Investigators found signs of scratching the runway.
"He touched the runway’s tail twice before it crashed ... A committee will be formed to find out if it was the pilot's fault or technical problems," Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar told reporters.
A survivor of the accident told the Tengrinews news site that she heard a "harrowing sound" and then the plane started to fade.
She added: «The plane was leaning during flight. Everything was like what happens in the movies, screaming and shouting and people crying. ”
Health authorities in Alma-Ata initially announced that the death toll from the accident was 15 or more, but later modified the number to 12, and said that 66 people were taken to hospital, some of them in serious condition.
The plane was carrying 93 passengers and five crew members, and the Ministry of Interior stated that the pilot of the plane was among the dead.
The ministry said it was investigating a possible violation of aviation and safety regulations.