Nurlan Botagarin, a soldier from the aviation base of the Kazakhstan Air Defense Forces, shared the details of the rescue operation following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, Report informs.
The aviation base is located in Aktau, and Botagarin, a contracted serviceman of military unit 30153, was on duty on the day of the plane crash.
According to Botagarin, as soon as he saw the plane go down, he immediately headed to the crash site to help the victims. "When I saw the plane flying in an odd manner, I realized there was a malfunction. As soon as the plane hit the ground, I got into a car and went to the crash site. At first, I thought it was a small plane with about 10 people inside. But it turned out that there were more people. I was shaken," he said.
The soldier recounted that he opened the rear door of the plane and started evacuating people. "While trying to get people out, I saw that rescuers and ambulances had arrived to help. They started extinguishing the fire and evacuating people. I believe I did my best," he said.
In Botagarin's opinion, this was not only his military duty but also his civic duty.
On December 25, an AZAL passenger aircraft on a Baku-Grozny flight crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Among the 67 people on board, 42 were Azerbaijani citizens, 16 were Russian, 6 were Kazakh, and 3 were Kyrgyz. Tragically, 38 individuals lost their lives, while 29 survived.
Following the accident, 27 individuals were admitted to the hospital. Of these, 15 are Azerbaijani citizens, 8 are Russian citizens, and 3 are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. The identity of one individual has not yet been confirmed.
Three crew members, including both pilots, were killed, while two crew members survived.
In response to the numerous casualties, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree declaring December 26 as a day of mourning. Additionally, a State Commission, led by Prime Minister Ali Asadov, was established by order of the head of state to investigate the causes of the plane crash.
On December 26, 14 wounded and 4 bodies were brought to Azerbaijan.