Azerbaijan is observing a national day of mourning after 38 people were killed in a plane crash – as footage from inside the aircraft emerged.
People can be heard praying as oxygen masks are lowered on board the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190, in a clip filmed by a passenger before the plane went down.
The flight was en route from Azerbaijan‘s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons not yet known.
People lay flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in St Petersburg, Russia. Pic: AP
It crashed around two miles from Aktau in Kazakhstan while making an attempt to land after flying east across the Caspian Sea.
Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the plane making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft lying upside in the grass.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday it would be wrong to speculate before the end of the investigation into the cause of the crash.
Some commentators have claimed holes seen in the plane’s tail section may indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defence systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
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Children among survivors of plane crash
Officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.
Some 38 people were killed, while the 29 survivors, including children, were all injured.
Nazakat Asadova, the wife of survivor Zulfugar Asadov, said: “He got up early in the morning, prayed early and left the house at almost 6 o’clock.
“He said, God willing, at 12 to 1pm, I’ll be landing already. Then we heard on TV that the plane had crashed.
“Then his name came up on TV and on the lists. They said that people died, but Zulfugar Asadov survived.”
National flags were lowered across Azerbaijan on Thursday as traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence.
Azerbaijan’s national flag at half-mast. Pic: AP
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said preliminary information indicated the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
According to Kazakh officials, those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals.
