Passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in ...

An Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday after veering from its scheduled route.

Kazakh authorities said 32 people had survived the crash of the Embraer 190 near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. 

The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku on the western shore of the Caspian to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia. 

The plane's course on Flight Radar showed it crossing the Caspian Sea away from its normal route and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed.

The plane was reportedly forced to make an emergency landing near the Caspian port city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan.  (Reuters: Pavel Mikheyev, file)

The ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement on Wednesday, that 67 people, including five crew, were on board the plane. 

Azerbaijan Airlines, the country's flag carrier, said the jet had "made an emergency landing" about 3 kilometres from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea on Wednesday, local time.

Russian news agencies said the plane had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny.

Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising.

Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau. (Reuters: Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry)

The Kazakh transport ministry said that of the plane's passengers 37 were from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia.

The Kazakh emergency situations ministry said its staff put out a fire which broke out when the plane crashed.

It said 150 emergency workers were at the scene.

Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Russia's aviation watchdog said the crash came shortly after an on-board emergency which may have been caused by a "collision with birds".

The office of Azerbaijan's prosecutor general said "all possible scenarios are being examined" while investigating the reasons for the crash.

"An investigative team, led by the deputy prosecutor general of Azerbaijan, has been dispatched to Kazakhstan and is working at the crash site."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's office said he cut short a visit to Russia in light of the crash and ordered "the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster".

"I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash … and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," Mr Aliyev said in a social media post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Mr Aliyev over the loss of life in the plane crash, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.