Azerbaijan mourns 38 killed in plane crash in Kazakhstan

Astana, Kazakhstan: Azerbaijan began a national day of mourning Thursday after a passenger jet from the flag carrier crashed in western Kazakhstan on...

Astana, Kazakhstan: Azerbaijan began a national day of mourning Thursday after a passenger jet from the flag carrier crashed in western Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard.

The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea. It crashed Wednesday near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijan Airlines reported that 67 people were on board the jet -- 62 passengers and five crew members.

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev told Russia's Interfax news agency that 38 people had been killed, while the Kazakh emergency situations ministry reported "29 survivors, including three children, have been hospitalised".

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations.