Officers in Russia and Kazakhstan have remained tight-lipped after an Azerbaijan Airways flight crashed close to the Kazakh metropolis of Aktau on Wednesday with dozens of souls aboard.
A Ukrainian nationwide safety official has blamed Russian air protection fireplace for the lethal crash, which killed 38 individuals on Christmas Day.
The Embraer 190 passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia had 62 passengers and 5 crew on board, in accordance with Kazakh authorities. It had flown lots of of miles off its scheduled path to crash on the alternative shore of the Caspian Sea. Twenty-nine individuals survived.
Video of the crash confirmed the aircraft descending quickly earlier than bursting into flames because it hit the seashore, and thick black smoke then rising, Reuters reported.
The crash close to the Kazakhstani metropolis of Aktau killed 38 individuals on Christmas Day. (Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Officers didn’t instantly clarify why the aircraft had crossed the ocean, however the crash got here shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone exercise has shut down airports within the space prior to now and the closest Russian airport on the aircraft’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned the reason for the crash is beneath investigation. He informed reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict,” the Related Press reported.
The aircraft was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny within the North Caucasus, the Related Press studies. (The Administration of Mangystau Area)
Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev additionally warned in opposition to dashing to conclusions based mostly on photos of the aircraft’s fragments, describing the allegations of air protection fireplace as unfounded and “unethical.”
Different officers in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have likewise declined to touch upon the reason for the crash and pointed to the continued investigations for solutions, in accordance with the AP.
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Emergency crews on the web site of the Azerbaijani airliner crash on Dec. 25, 2024. (Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Earlier, Ukrainian nationwide safety official Andriy Kovalenko blamed a “Russian air-defense system” for the crash in an X submit on Wednesday.
“However, admitting this is inconvenient for everyone, so efforts will be made to cover it up, even the holes in the remaining parts of the aircraft,” Kovalenko claimed.
Aviation-security agency Osprey Flight Options additionally mentioned the flight was “likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense sytem,” the Wall Road Journal reported Wednesday evening.
“Video of the wreckage and the circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia indicates the possibility the aircraft was hit by some form of antiaircraft fire,” Matt Borie, Osprey’s chief intelligence officer, mentioned in an interview.
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St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov locations flowers on the Consulate of Azerbaijan in reminiscence of the crash victims, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photograph/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russia’s aviation watchdog, in the meantime, mentioned it was an emergency which will have been brought on by a chicken strike.
The Kremlin didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Azerbaijan noticed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday for the 38 victims of the aircraft crash. Nationwide flags had been lowered throughout the nation, site visitors stopped at midday and indicators had been sounded from ships and trains because the individuals noticed a nationwide second of silence, the AP reported.
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“We will never forget the beloved people we lost in the crash of the ‘Embraer-190’ aircraft,” Azerbaijan Airways mentioned in an announcement Thursday. “This loss left a deep wound in the heart of an entire community. It reminds us to be more compassionate and connected to one another.”
“May the souls of those who tragically lost their lives rest in peace, and may their memory live on forever.”
Fox Information Digital’s Pilar Arias and Elizabeth Pritchett, together with the Related Press contributed to this report.
