Azerbaijan began a national day of mourning on Thursday, a day after a state-owned passenger plane crashed in western Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 people.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was on a visit to Russia, returned to Azerbaijan after hearing news of the accident, the presidential press service said.
He was to attend an informal meeting of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – a group of former Soviet countries – in St Petersburg.
Azerbaijani President expressed condolences on Pio’s death
“I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident… and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Aliyev said in a social media post.
His office said the president “has ordered the initiation of immediate measures to investigate the causes of the disaster”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “expressed his condolences in connection with the accident” to Aliyev in a phone conversation, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference.
Major Russian news agency Interfax quoted Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev as saying that 29 survivors, including three children, were hospitalized after the rescue operation.
What was the reason for the plane crash?
The flight, which was taking off from Baku to the southern Russian city of Gronji on Christmas Day, experienced a heavy downpour before it crashed in a ball of fire on the ground in western Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the plane had deviated from its original path and attempted an emergency landing 3 kilometers (1.8 mi) from Aktau.
Flight tracking website Flight Radar showed the plane deviated from its planned path over the Caspian Sea and formed a ‘figure eight’ over the area before crashing near Aktau.
However, the reason for the divergence is unclear.
Speaking at a press conference, Aliyev said it was too early to speculate about the reasons behind the crash, but he added that weather had forced the plane to change its course.
“The information given to me is that due to bad weather the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny and headed towards Aktau airport, where it crashed while landing,” he said.
However, Russia’s civil aviation authority said preliminary information showed that the pilots diverted the plane to Aktau after an emergency situation occurred in the plane following a bird strike.
The airline also initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds but soon withdrew the statement.
Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said, “We cannot disclose any investigation results at this time,” adding, “All possible scenarios are being investigated, and the necessary expert analyzes are underway.”
Azerbaijan’s state news agency reported that the plane’s black box, which records flight data, had been recovered.
Kazakhstan said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
MK/XX (AFP, AP)
