Kazakhstan has ensured an objective and impartial investigation into the cause of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near Aktau.

By Mariya Gordeyeva ASTANA (Reuters) -An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan that resulted in 38 fatalities, according to the Kremlin.

Officials say an Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry now saying that at least 28 people survived the crash, which could mean that over 30 people are likely dead.

The black box from the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan, believed to have been caused by Russian air defense, is being sent to Brazil for investigation, Kazakh authorities reported on Dec. 29.

The Malaysian Airlines flight was travelling at cruising altitude over eastern Ukraine on a journey from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down in July 2014. A pro-Russian militia had misidentified the plane as a Ukrainian military transport aircraft.