Kazakh plane crash kills all 21 aboard

Astana, Jan 29 (IANS/RIA Novosti) All 21 people on board a Kazakh plane were killed Tuesday when the aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's largest city of Almaty, the prosecutor general's office said.

The Bombardier CRJ200 plane operated by Kazakh airline Scat was carrying 16 passengers and five crew members.

It was flying a domestic route between the northern city of Kokshetau and Almaty, and crashed about five km from the airport.

Scat said the plane crashed while attempting to land in bad weather conditions.

The weather near Almaty appeared to be foggy and humid.

The onboard flight recorder was found at the crash site, Kazakhstan's Central Communications Service said.

It will be sent to the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee to be analysed.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed his condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the crash.

Kazakh authorities have opened a criminal case based on the violation of transportation safety rules resulting in the death of two or more people, the prosectuor general's office said.

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