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(CNN) - At least 12 people died when a plane carrying 93 passengers and five crew members crashed seconds after takeoff near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday morning.
The plane "lost altitude after takeoff and crossed a concrete fence", before hitting a two-story building at approximately 7:22 a.m. local time, according to the Almaty airport authority.
Flight Z2100, a Fokker 100 aircraft operated by the airline based in Kazakhstan Bek Air, was to fly from Almaty, the largest city in the country, to the capital Nur-Sultan.
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The captain of the plane was among the 12 dead, announced the emergency committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Fifty people, including at least six children, were transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment with varying degrees of injuries. The Almaty airport authority said at least 17 of those hospitalized were in an "extremely serious condition."
Earlier, the Kazinform news agency reported that he was dead at age 15, but a spokeswoman for the Almaty health care department told Reuters that the highest figure was the result of confusion on the ground. The flight was carrying 93 passengers and five crew members, according to preliminary data, the airport authority said, correcting an earlier statement that said 95 passengers and five crew members were on board.
All Bek Air and Fokker 100 flights were suspended following the accident, authorities said, and the president of Kazakhstan declared a day of mourning across the country on Saturday.
A "scary sound" before the plane crashed
The data provided by Flightradar24 indicated that the plane crashed 19 seconds after takeoff, approximately 5 kilometers from the airport. Videos and images of the accident site near the town of Kyzyl Tu show the damaged plane broken in several parts, with the nose embedded in a small partially collapsed house.
However, parts of the fuselage appeared to be relatively intact, which may have played a factor in many passengers who survived the initial impact.
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Rescue operations in the state of Central Asia began immediately with 40 ambulance teams deployed to provide medical care, the Kazakhstan aviation committee said in a statement. Emergency services could be seen at the scene evacuating passengers and crew members from the remains. There were no reports of a fire after the accident.
A survivor told local media Tengrinews that he heard a "scary sound" before the plane crashed, Reuters reported. “The plane was flying at an inclination. Everything was like in a movie: screams, screams, people crying, ”he said.
Another survivor said the plane began to fall at an angle shortly after takeoff. “At some point we began to fall, not vertically, but at an angle. It seemed that control of the plane had been lost, ”Aslan Nazaraliyev told the Vremya newspaper, Reuters reported.
Among those who died was Dana Kruglova, executive editor of the Informburo.kz website, the emergency committee announced. Kruglova had taken the last minute flight to celebrate the new year with his parents in Nur-Sultan, according to a story on the Informburo website.
"Dana Kruglova was a true journalist," Informburo.kz editor-in-chief Mikhail Dorofeev said in a statement.
“His articles resonated… Dana was honest, brave and objective at the same time. This is a terrible loss for all of us. ”
There is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the accident
The cause of the incident was under investigation, the aviation committee said in a statement posted online. As a precaution, the authorities said that all flights using the Fokker 100 aircraft would be temporarily suspended until the circumstances of the accident were clarified. The Fokker 100 is a medium-sized double turbofan jet that is often used for short-haul flights.
The Fokker 100 aircraft involved in the accident came into operation in 1996, according to the Kazakhstan Aviation Committee.
"The (plane) was 23 years old, but it was still a tough airplane and has a very good service history," Geoffrey Thomas, chief editor of the aviation website airlineratings.com, told CNN. "Fokker built very good airplanes (with) a high degree of focus on structural integrity, so this aircraft has not been divided into more pieces."
“The absence of a fire makes a big difference, and that is an important factor in survival, along with the strength of the fuselage. I am surprised that there has not been a fire. It is probably because the fuel tanks and wings remain intact and did not break. Again, a testimony of the structure of the aircraft. ”
Plane crash Survivor