Azerbaijani passenger plane crashes

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane with 23 people on board crashed along the Caspian Sea shore tonight and all aboard were believed killed, police said.

Wreckage was found along the shore.

The plane disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Baku en route to the Kazakh city of Aktau on the other side of the Caspian Sea, airport employees said.

They said there were 18 passengers on board and five crew members.

The plane was identified as an An-140, a twin-engine turboprop.

Baku and Aktau are centres of the thriving Caspian Sea oil industry, which has attracted substantial foreign investment.