Plane crashes in Kazakhstan

A Bek Air plane hit a concrete wall and a two-story building after takeoff in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing at least 12 people and hospitalizing 54. At least 10 people were in critical condition. The plane, carrying 98 passengers, was taking off on the way to the capital city of Nur-Saltan, formerly known as Astana, when it crashed early Friday.

What caused the crash? The cause is unclear, but authorities were looking into the possibility of pilot error and technical failures, said Roman Skylar, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister, adding the plane’s tail hit the runway twice during takeoff. Kazakhstan authorities said they were suspending all flights of the 23-year-old Fokker 100 while they investigated the accident.