Plane crash kills six in southern Kazakhstan, one survives

    Three pilots and three employees of Kazakhstan’s Kazakhmys copper company have been killed in a plane crash in the country's southern Zhambyl Oblast.
    Kazakhstan's Ministry for Emergency Situations says one woman has survived the January 20 crash.
    The plane that belonged to the Olimp-Air company in the central city of Karaganda was on its way from the town of Balkhash to Shatyrkol copper mine.
    No more details were immediately available.
    Kazakhmys is the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan and one of the largest in the world with 16 operating mines and a copper smelter, RFE/RL reports.
    The crash of the An-2 aircraft also left 1 survivor, the Committee for Emergency Situations has said, according to KazTAG.
    "On January 20 at 15.40 in the vicinity of the Shatyrkul mine in the Zhambyl Oblast an An-2 aircraft was following the Balkhash-Shatyrkul route. Seven people were on board, including three crew members," the statement issued Tuesday said.
    As a result of the crash, three crew members and three passengers died. One surviving female was found at the crash site, who was rushed to the hospital.
    The plane was found 20 km from the mine at 17:01.
    Security personnel for the Shatyrkul mine were dispatched to the crash site, along with rescue units from the Department of Emergency Situations of the Karaganda and Zhambyl oblasts and an 'operational investigative group' from the DIA of the Zhambyl Oblast.
    The plane apparently crashed while landing due to heavy fog, the Zhambyl Oblast DES reports, according to KazTAG.