An Azeri passenger plane with 23 people on board crashed on Friday soon after take off from the Caucasus state's capital Baku, Russia's RIA news agency reported. RIA quoted the Azeri transport authority as saying that An-142 aircraft bound for the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan with 18 passengers and five crew disappeared from radar screens 20 minutes after take-off. It was not clear if there had been any survivors. Itar-Tass news agency said the plane was An-140. "As became known later the plane crashed near the village of Kyurdakhany some 15 km (10 miles) from Baku," RIA said. It said the plane belonged to Azerbaijan's flag carrier AZAL.