Thursday is an official day of mourning in Azerbaijan as an investigation is underway to find out what triggered an airplane carrying 67 passengers to crash on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan, killing 38 and leaving no less than 29 survivors.
Video posted by CNN reveals the airplane crash-landing, exploding right into a fireball and plumes of black smoke.
Right here’s what to know in regards to the devastating accident and the newest on the doable causes.
The victims
Passengers on the Azerbaijan Airways’ Embraer operated flight 190 included 37 Azerbaijani nationals, 16 Russians, six Kazakh residents and three Kyrgyz nationals, according to the New York Occasions. The flight was heading from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny when the crash occurred. The airplane crashed whereas attempting to make an emergency touchdown on the Aktau airport in Kazakhstan.
Among the many 29 survivors had been two kids.
Footage of the rubble printed by the Russian state information outlet Ria Novosti reveals some passengers mendacity on the bottom and others having the ability to stroll away from the particles.
Some cell phone footage reveals passengers pulling one another out of the wreckage.
The reason for the crash
The precise reason behind the crash was not instantly recognized.
Russia’s aviation authority initially theorized {that a} collision with a flock of birds might have performed a component within the crash. There have been additionally different experiences that the airplane could have encountered vital fog, and that the flight had modified course halfway resulting from worsening climate circumstances however it’s nonetheless unclear if this was a significant factor within the crash, according to the AP.
“The data offered to me is that the airplane modified its course between Baku and Grozny resulting from worsening climate circumstances and headed to Aktau airport, the place it crashed upon touchdown,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that investigators are trying into whether or not the airplane was shot down unintentionally by Russian air protection programs, based mostly on interviews with 4 unnamed sources with data of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the crash. Almost three years into the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian air defense programs are commonly triggered by Ukrainian navy drones aiming for targets in southern Russia. Russian authorities usually are not confirming that, however Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched emergency sources to the crash web site.
A spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, stated Thursday that “it could be incorrect to make any hypotheses earlier than the investigation involves conclusions,” including that “nobody ought to do it.”
Azerbaijan suspended flights between Baku and Grozney till investigators can decide the official reason behind the crash.
