Russia-bound airliner crashes in ex-Soviet state (VIDEO)

The plane was en route from Azerbaijan to Chechnya when it went down near the Kazakh city of Aktau

A passenger plane carrying 72 people, including 67 passengers and five crew members, has crashed near the city of Aktau on Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea coast, local officials reported on Tuesday.

The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, when the incident occurred.

While the number of casualties remains unclear, local media report there are survivors.

Video footage of the crash has surfaced online as authorities investigate the cause of the accident

Local media published a video showing the jet descending at a relatively sharp angle, and seconds later hitting the ground in a fireball. Tengrinews.kz said the plane sent an emergency signal before going down.

The Azerbaijani outlet AZAL said, citing preliminary reports, that the crash was caused by a bird strike. Business daily RBK reported, citing officials, that the Grozny airport was unable to accept the plane due to thick fog and redirected it to the nearby city of Makhachkala.

Kazakh Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova has said that at least six people survived the crash, and that all necessary medical personnel have been dispatched. Later, the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations put the number of survivors at 25, of whom 22 have been hospitalized.

According to the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, more than 150 first responders are working at the scene.

The Kazakhstani Transport Ministry, citing preliminary data shared by Azerbaijani authorities, said there were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. It later specified that there were 37 Azerbaijani, 16 Russian, six Kazakh and three Kyrgyz citizens inside the plane.