Azerbaijan mourns 38 killed in plane crash in Kazakhstan
Published: 05:12 PM,Dec 26,2024 | EDITED : 09:12 PM,Dec 26,2024
An Azeri state flag flies at half-mast as the country observes the day of national mourning, outside the Government House in Baku. — Reuters
ASTANA: Azerbaijan held a national day of mourning on Thursday after a passenger jet from the flag carrier crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people, as experts pointed to apparent shrapnel damage on the wreckage as evidence of a possible missile explosion. The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea. It crashed on Wednesday near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
An investigation is underway, but some aviation and military experts said the plane may have been accidentally shot by Russian air defence systems as it was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported. Kazakh Senate speaker Maulen Ashimbayev condemned 'speculation' about what happened. He said it was 'not possible' to say what may have damaged the plane, he was quoted by Russian news agency TASS as saying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said: 'We need to await the end of the investigation'. But Russian military expert Yury Podolyaka said holes seen in the wreckage of the plane were similar to the damage caused by an 'anti-aircraft missile system'. 'Everything points to that,' he wrote. Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement. The airline reported that 67 people were on board the jet — 62 passengers and five crew members.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared on Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. Aliyev's office said the president 'ordered the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster'. 'I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash... and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,' Aliyev said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Flight Radar website showed the plane deviating from its normal route, crossing the Caspian Sea and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed near Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the sea. Azerbaijan Airlines said the plane 'made an emergency landing' around three kilometres (1.9 miles) from Aktau. Kazakhstan said the plane was carrying 37 Azerbaijani passengers, six Kazakhs, three Kyrgyz and 16 Russians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Aliyev and 'expressed his condolences in connection with the crash', his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement to a news conference. A Russian emergency situations ministry plane was sent to Aktau on Wednesday with medical personnel and other equipment. Chinese President Xi Jinping also called his Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian counterparts to send his 'deep condolences', according to CCTV. — AFP
An investigation is underway, but some aviation and military experts said the plane may have been accidentally shot by Russian air defence systems as it was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported. Kazakh Senate speaker Maulen Ashimbayev condemned 'speculation' about what happened. He said it was 'not possible' to say what may have damaged the plane, he was quoted by Russian news agency TASS as saying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said: 'We need to await the end of the investigation'. But Russian military expert Yury Podolyaka said holes seen in the wreckage of the plane were similar to the damage caused by an 'anti-aircraft missile system'. 'Everything points to that,' he wrote. Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement. The airline reported that 67 people were on board the jet — 62 passengers and five crew members.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared on Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. Aliyev's office said the president 'ordered the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster'. 'I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash... and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,' Aliyev said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Flight Radar website showed the plane deviating from its normal route, crossing the Caspian Sea and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed near Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the sea. Azerbaijan Airlines said the plane 'made an emergency landing' around three kilometres (1.9 miles) from Aktau. Kazakhstan said the plane was carrying 37 Azerbaijani passengers, six Kazakhs, three Kyrgyz and 16 Russians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Aliyev and 'expressed his condolences in connection with the crash', his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement to a news conference. A Russian emergency situations ministry plane was sent to Aktau on Wednesday with medical personnel and other equipment. Chinese President Xi Jinping also called his Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian counterparts to send his 'deep condolences', according to CCTV. — AFP