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Azerbaijan, in mourning for the victims of the air accident

2024-12-26 13:50:21, Kosova & Bota CNA

In Azerbaijan, December 26 has been declared a day of mourning to honor the victims of the passenger plane that crashed the day before in Kazakhstan.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane had 67 people on board. Authorities have said that 38 people died and 29 survived the crash.

The flight had departed from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, to Grozny in the Russian region of Chechnya. But the plane diverted and attempted to make an emergency landing near the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan.

The authorities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have launched investigations to understand the cause of the crash, while the recording from the pilot's cabin has also been found.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it was still too early to determine the cause of the plane crash, but suggested bad weather may have contributed to the incident.

"The information I have been given is that the plane changed its route from Baku to Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed towards Aktau airport before it crashed," he said.

Meanwhile, the Office of the General Prosecutor of Azerbaijan said that "all scenarios are being investigated".

There were 42 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan and three of Kyrgyzstan in the downed plane.

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev - who is in charge of the special government commission investigating the incident - said most of the victims could not be immediately identified as they had suffered severe burns.

As for the injured, he said that some have moderate injuries, but there are also people in a serious state of health who have suffered severe burns.

Meanwhile, as for the rescued, nine are Russians, who were sent to Moscow on a plane by the Russian Ministry of Emergencies on December 26.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended all flights from Baku to Chechnya until investigations into the tragedy are carried out.

The Russian news agency, Interfax, quoted officials as saying that the plane had passed all checks in October and the pilot had "great experience" with over 15,000 flight hours./ REL