Azerbaijan’s President said on Sunday that the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people had been damaged due to shooting from the ground in Russia, Azerbaijan state television reported.
The flight from the Azeri capital Baku was destined for Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya region but diverted off-course and crashed down in Kazakhstan after an emergency landing at the Aktau airport on the east coast of the Caspian Sea.
At least 38 people were killed and 29 survived.
President Ilham Aliyev added that the shooting was not intentional.
“We will know all the details only after the black boxes are opened. Many questions remain unanswered until today, but they will be clarified,” he said.
The Azerbaijani President said he regretted that "some circles" in Russia had tried to hush up the truth about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines planes by sowing false narratives about the causes of the crash.
On Saturday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defenses were fired against Ukrainian drones.
The plane carried mostly Azerbaijani nationals, but 16 Russians were also onboard, as well as nationals of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
At least 38 people were killed and 29 survived.
President Ilham Aliyev added that the shooting was not intentional.
“We will know all the details only after the black boxes are opened. Many questions remain unanswered until today, but they will be clarified,” he said.
The Azerbaijani President said he regretted that "some circles" in Russia had tried to hush up the truth about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines planes by sowing false narratives about the causes of the crash.
On Saturday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defenses were fired against Ukrainian drones.
The plane carried mostly Azerbaijani nationals, but 16 Russians were also onboard, as well as nationals of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
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