Survivors Heard Bangs Before Plane Went Down

THOSE who survived the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash said they heard at least one loud bang before the plane went down, Reuters reported.

"After the bang... I thought the plane was going to fall apart," Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters.

One of the passengers said he heard at least three loud bangs after which the cabin pressure fell. "The pilot had just lifted the plane up when I heard a bang from the left wing. There were three bangs," he said.

Sources who are aware of the findings of a preliminary probe by Azerbaijan told Reuters that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot it down.