A drone view shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday (December 28, 2024) apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.
The plane was flying on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.
In an official statement Saturday (December 28, 2024), the Kremlin said air defence systems were firing near Grozny on Wednesday due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.
On Friday (December 27, 21024), a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani Minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon.
Published – December 28, 2024 06:58 pm IST
