There are early indications {that a} Russian anti-aircraft system could have struck the Azerbaijan Airways aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing dozens, a U.S. official instructed ABC Information.
If these indications show true, they’d additional underscore Russian recklessness in its invasion of Ukraine, the official added.
A drone view reveals emergency specialists working on the crash web site of an Azerbaijan Airways passenger aircraft close to town of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Dec. 25, 2024.
Azamat Sarsenbayev/Reuters
The White Home referred ABC Information to officers within the area because the investigation continues.
Not less than 38 persons are useless and 29 others injured after the Azerbaijan Airways passenger plane crashed close to Kazakhstan’s Aktau Airport on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Conditions instructed ABC Information.
Lots of the 29 survivors have been hospitalized, together with two youngsters, the spokesperson stated.
The plane was flying from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia when it crashed close to Aktau in Kazakhstan, the spokesperson stated. The flight had been rerouted to Aktau because of fog in Grozny, Russian information companies reported.
Emergency specialists work on the crash web site of an Azerbaijan Airways passenger aircraft close to town of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Dec. 25, 2024.
Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry by way of Reuters
The prosecutor common’s workplace of Azerbaijan has launched a prison case concerning the info of the crash, officers introduced throughout a press briefing on Wednesday.
“Presently, the investigation course of is ongoing in cooperation with the prosecutor’s workplace of Kazakhstan. All variations are being explored within the prison case,” Farid Huseynov, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan Airways, stated.
Aviation authorities from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are collaborating to find out the precise reason for the crash, a spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s ministry of emergency conditions stated.
Emergency specialists work on the crash web site of an Azerbaijan Airways passenger jet close to the western Kazakh metropolis of Aktau, Dec. 25, 2024.
Issa Tazhenbayev/AFP by way of Getty Photos
The aircraft was carrying 69 individuals: 64 passengers and 5 crew members. Primarily based on preliminary information, the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani residents, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, officers stated.
Embraer, the plane producer, launched an announcement concerning the crash, saying, “We’re carefully monitoring the state of affairs, and we stay totally dedicated to supporting the related authorities.”
ABC Information’ Dragana Jovanovic and David Brennan contributed to this report.
