Flight J2-8243 crashed and caught fire near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday after diverting from an area in southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defense systems against Ukrainian drones.
Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190AR (4K-AZ65) passenger plane traveling from Baku to Grozny crashes near Aktau, Kazakhstan earlier today. There were 72 occupants including five crew members.
Six survivors are in critical condition. Pending any official confirmation,… pic.twitter.com/cjRzOrPzQ8
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“I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Subhonkul Rahimov testified for Reuters from the hospital, adding that when he heard the explosion, he had already started praying and preparing for the end.
At least 38 people died and 29 survived. Russian authorities say it is important to wait until the official investigation is completed to understand what happened.
Four sources familiar with the preliminary findings of the Azerbaijani investigation told Reuters yesterday that the plane was mistakenly shot down by Russian air defenses.
Today, the Azerbaijani airline suspended a number of flights to Russian cities and announced that it considers the cause of the accident to be “external physical and technical disturbances”.
The Embraer passenger jet was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in the southern Russian region of Chechnya before abruptly changing course and flying hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea. It crashed on the opposite coast after “an accident possibly caused by a bird strike,” Russia’s air traffic control agency Rosaviatsia said earlier.
Asked about reports that Russian air defenses mistakenly shot down the aircraft, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that he had nothing to add and did not want to make any assessments until the official investigation was completed.
Rosaviatsia said that the captain of the plane was offered other airports where he could land, but he chose Kazakhstan’s Aktau. She added that she would provide full support to the Kazakh and Azerbaijani investigations into the crash.
(Vijesti.ba / HINA)
www.vijesti.ba
