Russian air defence 'likely' behind crash that killed 38

The deadly Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan was likely caused by a Russian air defence system, military and aviation experts have said.

- ALEX CROFT

It comes after sources close to Azerbaijan's investigation into the incident said fire from a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system was believed to be behind the devastating crash, in which 38 people were killed and 29 injured. But Moscow has downplayed the accusations, saying it is wrong to speculate on "hypotheses" before the outcome of a full investigation.

The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was scheduled to land in the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday after taking off from Baku, before it was diverted for reasons that have not yet been confirmed.

The plane exploded in a fireball after crashing into the ground just 3km (2 miles) from Aktau, Kazakhstan, where it had hoped to land after flying east across the Caspian Sea. Mobile phone footage appears to show the aircraft's steep descent before hitting the ground.

Subhonkul Rakhimov, a survivor of the crash who is now in hospital, told reporters he "thought the plane was going to fall apart" and that it was acting "drunk" after a loud bang. Mr Rakhimov began reciting prayers and preparing for the end after the bang, he said.

Preliminary investigations in Azerbaijan have found that Russian air defences were responsible for the crash, four sources told the Reuters news agency. The plane's communications had been cut off by electronic warfare systems on its approach to Grozny, one of the sources said.

"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," the sources added.