Kazakhstan air disaster: Russian missile blamed for crash
A preliminary investigation confirms that the plane crash, which occurred on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile, Euronews reported on Thursday, citing sources in the Azerbaijani government. The aircraft in question was an Embraer-190 belonging to the Azerbaijani carrier Azerbaijan Airlines.
The plane, flying from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, crashed on Wednesday morning near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board lost their lives.
On Wednesday evening, when the initial version of events was presented, it was suggested that the aircraft most likely collided with a flock of birds, leading to a control system failure. It was reported that after the collision, the plane was redirected to avoid flying over a mountain range, towards Aktau on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. During the emergency landing attempt, the aircraft broke apart and burst into flames.
Sources: The missile was fired toward the plane. It was aimed at a drone
On Thursday, the first speculations emerged that a Russian air defence system fired upon it. The official cause of the crash has not yet been released to the public, but Euronews, citing sources in the Azerbaijani government, reported that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused it.
According to informants, the missile was launched towards the plane as the Russian air defence attempted to repel an attack by Ukrainian drones over Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, a part of the Russian Federation. The missile was said to have exploded near the aircraft, with its fragments hitting the plane. Sources add that the crew of the damaged plane was not allowed - despite requests - to make an emergency landing at any Russian airport and was ordered to head towards Aktau.
Footage from inside the plane, shared on Telegram by survivors of the crash, shows that some passengers were bleeding even before the plane fell.
In material published by the opposition Russian TV station Nastojaszczeje Wriemia (banned in Russia), the rear of the plane appears to be riddled with holes, resembling traces from gunfire.
On Thursday morning, blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev was detained for filming the crash site with a drone. The official reason for his detention was failing to comply with police orders. He was sentenced to 10 days in detention. The blogger claims that he filmed the site at the request of the BBC and Reuters.
