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 hearth for the lethal crash, which killed 38 individuals on Christmas Day.Â
The Embraer 190 passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia had 62 passengers and 5 crew on board, in line with Kazakh authorities. It had flown a whole lot of miles off its scheduled path to crash on the alternative shore of the Caspian Sea. Twenty-nine individuals survived.Â
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.Â
RUSSIA BEING BLAMED FOR AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT CRASHED HUNDREDS OF MILES OFF COURSE, KILLING DOZENS
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 stated the reason for the crash is below investigation. He advised reporters that “it might be mistaken to make hypotheses earlier than investigators make their verdict,” the Related Press reported.Â
The aircraft was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny within the North Caucasus, the Related Press experiences. (The Administration of Mangystau Area)
Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev additionally warned towards dashing to conclusions primarily based on photos of the aircraft’s fragments, describing the allegations of air protection hearth 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 continuing investigations for solutions, in line with the AP.
MORE THAN 30 DEAD IN BRAZIL BUS AND TRUCK COLLISION
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 put up on Wednesday.
“Nevertheless, admitting that is inconvenient for everybody, so efforts shall be made to cowl it up, even the holes within the remaining elements of the plane,” Kovalenko claimed.Â
Aviation-security agency Osprey Flight Options additionally stated the flight was “seemingly shot down by a Russian navy air-defense sytem,” the Wall Avenue Journal reported Wednesday night time.
“Video of the wreckage and the circumstances across the airspace safety setting in southwest Russia signifies the chance the plane was hit by some type of antiaircraft hearth,” Matt Borie, Osprey’s chief intelligence officer, stated 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, stated it was an emergency that will have been attributable to a chook 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, visitors stopped at midday and alerts had been sounded from ships and trains because the individuals noticed a nationwide second of silence, the AP reported.
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“We are going to always remember the beloved individuals we misplaced within the crash of the ‘Embraer-190’ plane,” Azerbaijan Airways stated in an announcement Thursday. “This loss left a deep wound within the coronary heart of a complete neighborhood. It reminds us to be extra compassionate and linked to 1 one other.”Â
“Could the souls of those that tragically misplaced their lives relaxation in peace, and should their reminiscence reside on ceaselessly.”Â
Fox Information Digital’s Pilar Arias and Elizabeth Pritchett, together with the Related Press contributed to this report.
