EGN NEWS DESK
Thursday is an official day of mourning in Azerbaijan as an investigation is underway to find out what brought about an airplane carrying 67 passengers to crash on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan, killing 38 and leaving a minimum of 29 survivors.
Video posted by CNN exhibits the aircraft crash-landing, exploding right into a fireball and plumes of black smoke.
Here’s what to know in regards to the devastating accident and the newest on the doable causes.
The victims
Passengers on the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer operated flight 190 included 37 Azerbaijani nationals, 16 Russians, six Kazakh residents and three Kyrgyz nationals, based on the New York Times. The flight was heading from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny when the crash occurred. The aircraft crashed whereas making an attempt to make an emergency touchdown on the Aktau airport in Kazakhstan.
Among the 29 survivors had been two kids.
Footage of the rubble printed by the Russian state information outlet Ria Novosti exhibits some passengers mendacity on the bottom and others having the ability to stroll away from the particles.
Some cell phone footage exhibits passengers pulling one another out of the wreckage.
The reason behind the crash
The actual 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 had been additionally different experiences that the aircraft could have encountered vital fog, and that the flight had modified course halfway on account of worsening climate situations however it’s nonetheless unclear if this was a significant component within the crash, based on the AP.
“The info offered to me is that the aircraft modified its course between Baku and Grozny on account of worsening climate situations and headed to Aktau airport, the place it crashed upon touchdown,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev mentioned on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that investigators are wanting into whether or not the aircraft was shot down unintentionally by Russian air protection techniques, primarily based on interviews with 4 unnamed sources with information of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the crash. Nearly three years into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian air protection techniques are repeatedly triggered by Ukrainian navy drones aiming for targets in southern Russia. Russian authorities are usually not confirming that, however Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched emergency sources to the crash website.
A spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, mentioned Thursday that “it might 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.
