An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet flying from the capital Baku to Grozny in Russia has crashed in western Kazakhstan, the Kazakh transport ministry said on Wednesday.

“A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines,” the ministry said on Telegram.

Azerbaijan Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, said the Embraer 190 had “made an emergency landing” around three kilometres from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.

The Kazakh transport ministry said there were 62 passengers and five crew members on the plane.

The country’s emergency situations ministry said its personnel were putting out a fire at the site.

“Information about casualties is currently being clarified but, according to preliminary information, there are survivors,” it said.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.