BAKU/WASHINGTON:
Azerbaijani officials suspect a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, according to media reports on Thursday.
The aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny in southern Russia, went down near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. Reports indicate that “shrapnel struck passengers and crew as the missile exploded near the plane mid-flight,” as per Azerbaijani government sources cited by Euronews.
Experts noted visible shrapnel damage on the plane’s fuselage. Adding to the tragedy, sources claim the aircraft was denied emergency landing access at Russian airports, forcing it to reroute across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, far from its intended path.
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported similar findings, with preliminary investigations pointing to a strike by a Pantsir missile system as the plane neared Grozny.
The crash follows recent Ukrainian drone activity in Chechnya and surrounding regions like Ingushetia and North Ossetia, raising suspicions about heightened military operations in the area.
Reports also suggest the plane’s communication systems were jammed by Russian electronic warfare, causing it to vanish from radars while still in Russian airspace.
The incident has sparked international concern, with questions mounting over the circumstances leading to the deadly crash and the denial of emergency landing rights.
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