Azerbaijan Airlines on Friday grounded a number of flights to Russian cities, saying the crash was caused by “external physical and technical disruptions.”
An Embraer 190 plane crashed early Wednesday morning near the town of Aktau in western Kazakhstan. Earlier, the plane deviated from its intended flight route to Grozny in the Chechen Republic. Kazakh authorities announced that 38 of the 67 people on board were killed.
Plane crash in Kazakhstan. Airlines issue statements
Immediately after the accident, the pilot reported the incident to air traffic controllers in Aktau, believing that the cause of the accident was loss of control of the aircraft due to a collision with a flock of birds.
– We have to read the black box and interview witnesses and airlines. The country's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozunbayev said on Wednesday that all forces and resources are involved and only then can the initial cause of the disaster be determined.
See: Plane crash in Kazakhstan. Intelligence chief points to Russia
There were early reports that Russian missiles contributed to the disaster. The Kremlin denied this, with Spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying they should wait until the process was over.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The investigation is ongoing and until its conclusion I do not think I have the right to comment and I have no intention of commenting.”
Plane crash in Kazakhstan. Was it caused by Russian missiles?
One passenger on the plane told Reuters he heard at least one loud bang as the plane approached its intended destination. “I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Sukhonkur Rakhimov said, adding that after hearing the explosion, he started saying prayers and preparing for the end.
See: Kazakhstan disaster. Unofficial: Russian missiles were the cause
Four different sources familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation told Reuters that Russian air defenses shot down the plane by mistake.
General Kirillo Budanov, head of military intelligence of Ukraine, agrees with this theory. In an interview with military portal The Warzone, he said that Russian soldiers were responsible for the disaster. -As far as we know, the aircraft was shot down by Russia's Pantsir S1 air defense system over Russian territory, he said.
Your browser does not support video players…
polsatnews.pl
read more
Source link
