On Wednesday, the Azerbaijan Airlines Crash plane went off course for unknown reasons and crashed close to the oil and gas hub of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijan Airlines Crash
Astana: The Kremlin warned against “hypotheses” over the tragedy, but Azerbaijani and US officials stated Thursday that they suspect a Russian surface-to-air missile was responsible for the fatal crash of an Azerbaijani passenger flight.
On Wednesday, the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft went off course for unknown reasons and crashed close to the oil and gas town of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Of the 67 individuals on board, 38 perished.
Instead of travelling northwest from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in Chechnya, southern Russia, the Embraer 190 plane took a diversion across the Caspian Sea.
The investigation is ongoing. According to anonymous officials quoted by the pro-government Azerbaijani website Calibre, the plane was downed by a Russian missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system.
The New York Times, the Turkish news agency Anadolu, and broadcaster Euronews also reported on the claim.
Because the jet was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been detected, some military and aviation experts speculated that it may have been unintentionally shot by Russian air defence systems.
According to a former specialist at France’s BEA air accident investigation agency, the wreckage seemed to have “a lot of shrapnel” damage.
He spoke on condition of anonymity and described the damage as “reminiscent” of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by rebels supported by Russia using a surface-to-air missile.
Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated: “It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigation’s conclusions.”
– Shrapnel strikes reported – Azerbaijan Airlines Crash
“Shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight,” according to Azerbaijani official sources quoted by Euronews.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official added that preliminary reports indicated the plane was struck by a Russian anti-aircraft system.
According to a provincial prosecutor quoted by Kazakhstan news agency Kazinform, two black-box flight recorders have been found.
After first claiming that the aircraft flew through a flock of birds, Azerbaijan Airlines later withdrew the claim.
According to Kazakh officials, 29 individuals—including three children—were still alive after 38 people were killed.
Hokume Aliyeva’s father, Jalil Aliyev, told AFP that this was meant to be her final flight before she began working for the airline as a lawyer.
The man’s voice trembled as he asked, “Why did her young life have to end so tragically?” and hung up.
According to the Kazakh health ministry, eleven of the injured are in critical condition.
– Day of mourning – Azerbaijan Airlines Crash
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan cancelled a scheduled trip to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a coalition of former Soviet states, and proclaimed Thursday a day of mourning.
Aliyev posted on social media on Wednesday, saying, “I wish a speedy recovery to the injured and extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash.”
The aircraft veered off course, crossing the Caspian Sea and then circling over the region where it ultimately crashed close to Aktau, on the sea’s eastern bank, according to the Flight Radar website.
According to Kazakhstan, the aircraft was carrying 16 Russians, three Kyrgyz, six Kazakhs, and 37 Azerbaijanis.
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A group of bloodied survivors
A Kazakh woman hurried to the scene of the jet crash to assist survivors after telling the local Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) station that she was close to the scene.
“They had blood all over them. They were in tears. The woman, who identified herself as Elmira, stated, “They were calling for help.”
They saved some teenagers, she claimed.
“I’ll never forget their look, full of pain and despair,” Elmira replied. “A girl pleaded: ‘Save my mother, my mother is back there’.”
Peskov told a news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin “expressed his condolences in connection with the crash” during a phone chat with Aliyev.
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