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Officials in Russia and Kazakhstan remained silent after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, killing dozens.
A Ukrainian national security official has blamed Russian air defense fire for a deadly crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day.
The Embraer 190 passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia had 62 passengers and five crew members on board, according to Kazakh authorities. It flew hundreds of miles off its planned route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. Twenty-nine people survived.
Video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames when it hit the seashore, followed by thick black smoke, Reuters reported.
38 people died in an accident near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Christmas Day. (Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Officials did not immediately explain why the plane crossed the sea, but the crash happened shortly after drone attacks hit southern Russia. Drone activity has closed airports in the area in the past, and the closest Russian airport in the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the cause of the accident was being investigated. He told reporters that “it would be wrong to hypothesize before investigators reach their verdict,” the Associated Press reports.
The plane was on its way from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus, reports the Associated Press. (Mangystau Region Administration)
Kazakh Parliament Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev also warned against jumping to conclusions based on images of the plane’s fragments, describing allegations of air defense fire as baseless and “unethical”.
Other officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan also declined to comment on the cause of the crash and pointed to ongoing investigations for answers, according to the AP.
MORE THAN 30 DEAD IN A COLLISION BETWEEN A BUS AND A TRUCK IN BRAZIL
Emergency crews at the crash site of an Azerbaijani airliner on December 25, 2024. (Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Earlier, Ukrainian national security official Andriy Kovalenko blamed a “Russian air defense system” for the X-post crash on Wednesday.
“However, admitting this is inconvenient for everyone, so efforts will be made to cover it up, even the holes in the remaining parts of the aircraft,” Kovalenko asserted.
Aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions also said the flight was “probably downed by a Russian military air defense system,” the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday night.
“Video of the wreckage and the circumstances surrounding the airspace security environment in southwestern Russia indicate the possibility that the aircraft was hit by some form of anti-aircraft fire,” Matt Borie, Osprey’s chief intelligence officer, said in an interview.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov lays flowers at the consulate of Azerbaijan in memory of the victims of the accident, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Meanwhile, Russia’s aviation watchdog said it was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan declared a national day of mourning for the 38 victims of the plane crash. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic was halted at noon and signals sounded from ships and trains as people across the country observed a minute of silence, the AP reported.
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“We will never forget the loved ones we lost in the crash of the ‘Embraer-190’ plane,” Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement released on Thursday. “This loss has left a deep wound in the heart of the entire community. It reminds us to be more compassionate and connected to one another.”
May the souls of the tragic victims rest in peace, and may their memory be eternal.
Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias and Elizabeth Pritchett, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
