Dozens of people survived the crash, which happened at 7.22am local time. The Bek Air flight was travelling to Kazakhstan’s capital city Nur-Sultan.
Where did deadly crash happen?
Kazakhstan’s interior ministry confirmed the Fokker aircraft was carrying 93 passengers, including eight children, and five cabin crew members.
The cause of the crash in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, is at present unclear and around 60 people are in hospital.
Reuters have reported that there was heavy fog at the time of the flight.
Crash survivors have described dark and snowy conditions as they escaped the plane wreckage.
In a statement, Kazakhstan’s civil aviation committee said flight Z2100 “lost altitude during take-off and broke through a concrete fence” before colliding into a small building.
The death toll was originally declared at 15 or more by local health authorities but was later revised to 12.
The aviation committee said 66 survivors had been taken to hospital – six of those children – while the captain was among the dead.
Almaty’s mayor’s office announced at least 22 of the survivors are in critical condition and an appeal for blood donations has been made.
A special commission will be set up to determine the cause of the crash.
In a tweet, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and said that those responsible for the fatal accident would face “severe punishment in accordance with the law”.
Kazakhstan has declared a national day of mourning on Saturday for the victims.
Bek Air cancelled all its flights soon after the incident but Almaty’s airport said it was operating normally and the flight schedule was unaffected.
Where is Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan is a central European country that borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea.
The world’s largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan has a population of 18 million people.
The country was formed in the late 15th century, came under Russian control by 1742, eventually declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The capital Nur-Sultan, formerly known as Astana, was named after President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who declared the country’s independence.
Kazakhstan has a varied terrain with mountains in the east, lowlands in the west, fertile southern parts, an arid and empty middle and Siberian climate and land in the north.
Its population density is among the lowest in the world with 15 people per square mile.
The country is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60 per cent of the region’s GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry, and it also boasts vast mineral resources.