Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he known as a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 folks.
Azerbaijan Airways Flight 8243, an Embraer 190 plane, was flying from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to town of Grozny in Russia’s North Caucasus area on Wednesday when it was diverted for causes that are not but totally clear.
It crashed whereas making an attempt to succeed in one other airport in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan. Cellphone footage seems to indicate the plane making a steep descent earlier than hitting the bottom and exploding in a fireball about two miles from the Aktau airport.
Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry Press Service by way of AP
The airline stated 67 folks had been on board — 62 passengers and 5 crew members — and 38 folks died within the crash. There have been 29 survivors.
An official Kremlin assertion issued Saturday stated that air protection methods had been firing close to Grozny airport because the airliner “repeatedly” tried to land there on Wednesday. It didn’t explicitly say certainly one of these hit the airplane.
The assertion stated Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the truth that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”
“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and as soon as once more expressed his deep and honest condolences to the households of the victims and wished a speedy restoration to the injured,” the Kremlin stated in an announcement.
The readout stated Russia has launched a felony probe into the incident, and Azerbaijani state prosecutors have arrived in Grozny to take part. The Kremlin additionally stated that “related companies” from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are collectively investigating the crash website close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
Putin’s name with Aliyev got here after hypothesis grew that Russian air protection could have by chance shot down the airplane.
The Kremlin stated the decision occurred at Putin’s request.
In response to a readout of the decision supplied by Aliyev’s press workplace, the Azerbaijani president advised Putin that the airplane was topic to “exterior bodily and technical interference,” though he additionally stopped in need of blaming Russian air defenses.
Aliyev famous that the airplane had a number of holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained accidents “attributable to overseas particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”
KAMILLA JUMAYEVA/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia all opened investigations into the reason for the crash. The Kremlin has urged folks to not bounce to conclusions. Investigators have recovered each of the so-called black packing containers, the flight information and cockpit voice recorders, from the crash website.
On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an exterior weapon.
A U.S. official advised CBS Information there have been early indications a Russian anti-aircraft system could have struck the airplane in a area the place Ukrainian and Russian forces have traded drone and rocket hearth for months. The official, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, stated if that proved to be true, it could additional underscore Russia’s recklessness in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
White Home Nationwide Safety Council spokesman John Kirby stated Friday that U.S. officers “have seen some early indications that would definitely level to the likelihood that this jet was introduced down by Russian air protection methods.”
He confirmed to reporters that the U.S. has intelligence or info pointing to the likelihood, however stated Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are at present conducting the investigation and the U.S. will “respect that course of.”
Passengers and crew who survived the crash advised Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane because it was circling over Grozny.
