Almaty Kazakhstan - A Kazakhstan plane with 98 people aboard has crashed shortly after takeoff early Friday, killing at least 15 people, officials in Almaty said. At least 66 others survived with injuries, 50 of them hospitalized.
The Bek Air aircraft hit a concrete fence and a two-story building after takeoff from Almaty International Airport. It lost attitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT), the airport said.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the airport said there was no fire and a rescue operation got underway immediately following the crash.
Around 1,000 people were working at the snow-covered site of the crash. The weather in Almaty was clear, with mild sub-zero temperature that is common at this time of the year.
Footage showed the front of the broken-up fuselage rammed a house and the rear of the plane lying in the field next to the airport.
Almaty International Airport said a Bek Air plane crashed Friday in Kazakhstan shortly after takeoff causing numerous deaths. The aircraft had 100 passengers and crew onboard when hit a concrete fence and a two-story building shortly after takeoff. Picture: Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan photo via AP
The plane was flying to Nur-Sultan, the country's capital formerly known as Astana.
Police guard as rescuers work on the side of a plane crashed near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Picture: Vladimir Tretyakov/AP
The Kazakhstan plane with 100 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff early Friday. Picture: Vladimir Tretyakov/AP
Police and rescuers work on the side of a plane crashed near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Picture: Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan via AP
Police stand guard as rescuers assist on the site of a plane crash near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. Almaty International Airport said the Bek Air plane crashed Friday in Kazakhstan shortly after takeoff causing numerous deaths. The aircraft had 100 passengers and crew onboard when hit a concrete fence and a two-story building shortly after takeoff. (AP Photo/Vladimir Tretyakov)
The aircraft was identified as a Fokker-100, a medium-sized, twin-turbofan jet airliner. The company manufacturing the aircraft went bankrupt in 1996 and the production of the Fokker-100 stopped the following year.
Police stand guard as rescuers assist on the site of a plane crashed near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Picture: Vladimir Tretyakov/AP
All Bek Air and Fokker-100 flights in Kazakhstan have been suspended pending the investigation of the crash, the country's authorities said.
Police and rescuers work on the side of a plane crash near Almaty International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Picture: Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan photo via AP