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In honor of the victims of a horrific plane crash that killed 38 people and injured all 29 survivors, Azerbaijan observed a national day of sorrow on Thursday. Speculation about the disaster’s possible cause, which is still unclear, increased as investigations got underway.

When the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was abruptly redirected, it was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in the North Caucasus region of Russia. After crossing the Caspian Sea, the aircraft crashed during an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan. It’s still unknown why the diversion occurred.

The collision happened roughly two miles (three kilometers) from Aktau. The jet made a sharp drop before exploding in a massive explosion, according to cellphone footage that was posted online. In other videos, the rest of the airplane was shown resting upside down in a grassy field, with pieces of the fuselage separated from the wings.

Azerbaijan observed a national minute of silence, lowered national flags, and stopped traffic at noon on Thursday in remembrance of the victims. In remembrance of the dead, trains and ships also sounded their signals.

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, warned against speculating too soon in a statement on Wednesday, blaming the weather for the flight’s route modification. Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation regulator, said the pilots had diverted to Aktau due to an emergency on board caused by a bird strike.

According to Kazakh authorities, the passengers included three Kyrgyz nationals, six Kazakhs, sixteen Russians, and forty-two Azerbaijani people. Nine Russian survivors were flown to Moscow for medical care on Thursday by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry.

Hypotheses and Research

As investigations got underway, a number of theories about what caused the tragedy surfaced. A Ukrainian drone may have been the target of Russian air defense systems, according to observers who pointed out holes in the plane’s tail section. Grozny and other regions in Russia’s North Caucasus had previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones. Although it was not formally verified, certain Russian media outlets claimed that Chechnya had been the target of another drone strike on the day of the accident.

According to UK-based aviation security company Osprey Flight Solutions, a Russian military air defense system may have shot down the aircraft. Osprey, a Russian aviation risk monitoring organization, reported that during the battle, it had sent out more than 200 notifications about drone assaults and air defense operations.

“This tragedy highlights the significance of our work,” stated Andrew Nicholson, CEO of Osprey. “Knowing that lives were lost in an avoidable way is heartbreaking.”

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, declined to comment on these allegations and urged patience while investigators present their findings. In a similar vein, Maulen Ashimbayev, the speaker of Kazakhstan’s parliament, called claims of air defense involvement “unethical” and “unfounded.”

Both Kazakhstani and Azerbaijani officials said that it is the investigators’ job to find the truth and declined to speculate on possible causes.

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Source : apnews

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