Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash

Scenes from Kazakhstan plane crash site

A drone view shows the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.

Emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau cover the bodies of victims.

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground.

A part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft following the crash.

The fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft was found lying upside down in the grass.

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure-right once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground.

RIA Novosti quoted Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, as saying that preliminary information showed that the pilot had chosen to divert to Aktau after a bird strike on the aircraft led to an emergency situation on board.

The number of survivors could mean that over 30 people may be dead. (All images via AP, AFP, Reuters)