BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 26. Today, all mosques across Azerbaijan, including the “Juma Mosque” in the Old City (Icherisheher), held prayers in honor of those who lost their lives in the crash of an AZAL plane near Aktau, Trend reports via the Executive Authority of Baku.
Haji Surkhay Mammadli, a member of the Veterans Council of the Caucasus Muslims Office (UMK) and chairman of the religious community of the "Juma Mosque" in the capital's Icherisheher, expressed deep sorrow over the tragic loss. “The news of the tragic deaths resulting from the crash of the plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) in the city of Aktau deeply shocked everyone,” he said.
“On the instruction of the Chairman of UMK, prayers from the Quran were recited at the Juma Mosque in Icherisheher for the souls of the victims of the crash. As a religious community, we once again express our heartfelt condolences to our people and wish the Almighty to heal those injured in the tragedy.
May the Almighty protect our people from all misfortunes,” Mammadli added.
To note, AZAL's Embraer 190 passenger plane on the Baku-Grozny route crashed 3 km away from Aktau airport on December 25.
A total of 67 people (62 passengers and 5 crew members) were on board the Embraer 190 airplane, flying Baku-Grozny, which crashed in Aktau.
Following the crash of the passenger airplane near Aktau, 27 people were hospitalized. Of them, 15 people are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 8 - of the Russian Federation, and 3 - of the Kyrgyz Republic. The identity of one person has not been established yet.
Of the victims hospitalized, 11 are being treated in the intensive care unit, 13 - in the traumatology department, 2 - in the neurosurgery department, and 1 - in the surgical department. These persons are under the control of professional doctors from Kazakhstan and those expelled from Azerbaijan and Russia. They were provided with prompt and specialized medical and psychological treatment.
Both crew pilots as well as the flight stewardess were lost, but two crew members survived.
December 26 has been declared a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
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