Updated: 14 die in plane crash

At least 14 people have been confirmed dead in the Bek Air plane crash with 95 passengers and five crew members on board.

The plane crashed near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday shortly after taking off.

Almaty Mayor’s office said 22 people have been hospitalised in grave condition.

The Fokker 100 aircraft was heading for the capital, Nur-Sultan, and “lost altitude during takeoff and broke through a concrete fence” before hitting a two-storey building, Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement.

The plane was taking off before dawn. A Reuters reporter travelling to the airport said there was thick fog in the area at the time.

Kazakh carrier Bek Air operates a fleet of Fokker 100 jets.

Authorities have not suggested any possible cause of the accident. The aviation committee said it was suspending all flights of that type of aircraft pending an investigation.

“Those responsible will face tough punishment in accordance with the law,” Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted, expressing condolences to the victims and their families.