Russia and Kazakhstan have tried to calm speculation about the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, following claims that it was shot down by Russian air defence systems. Yesterday, Moscow urged calm as its foreign minister said it would be wrong to draw conclusions before an investigation into the crash was complete.
The flight had been set to travel to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s southern republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday, but instead diverted and crash-landed a few kilometres short of Aktau airport in Kazakhstan. Unverified video footage of the crash showed the aircraft descending and hitting the ground, where it burst into flames, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said a preliminary investigation indicated that the pilot had decided to change landing site after “a collision with birds”. But the Reuters news agency noted that the plane had diverted from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 27, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.
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