BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 28. French online edition La Gazette du Caucase has published an article about the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane near the Kazakh city of Aktau, TurkicWorld reports.
Referring to the statement of the Minister of Transport and Digital Development of Azerbaijan, the publication notes that expert studies and testimonies of survivors point to an external impact that caused the crash.
"Azerbaijan's Minister of Transport and Digital Development Rashad Nabiyev emphasized that preliminary conclusions of experts and testimonies of survivors indicate an external impact. Russian authorities confirmed drone activity near Grozny but did not comment on the information that the crash was due to the reaction of Russian air defenses to Ukrainian attacks.
Aviation experts found damage to the tail section, which could indicate possible strikes by Russian air defense systems. The Kremlin refused to comment on the accusations against the Russian air defense systems, while spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the cause of the crash should be determined by investigators.
If this version is confirmed, this will be the second fatal incident in civil aviation related to the Ukrainian conflict after a Russian surface-to-air missile shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 over Ukraine," the article reads.
To note, an Embraer 190 passenger plane belonging to AZAL, flying on the Baku-Grozny route, crashed 3 kilometers from Aktau airport on December 25.
As many as 67 people (62 passengers and 5 crew members) were on board the airplane.
Following the crash of the passenger plane, 27 people were admitted to the hospital. Of them, 15 people are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 8 of the Russian Federation, and 3 of the Kyrgyz Republic. The identity of one person has not yet been established.
Both pilots of the crew, as well as the stewardess, were killed; two crew members survived.
On December 26, 14 victims and the bodies of four dead were transported to Azerbaijan.
