Azerbaijan Airlines plane 'shot down by Russian air defences' killing 38, say government sources
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The doomed Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Christmas Day was allegedly "shot down" by Russian air defences, government sources have claimed. The statement by the Azerbaijani government comes following an investigation into the crash. The government report claimed the aircraft was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system, according to The Sun.
Russian media downplayed the incident as having been caused by a flock of birds, a claim that was strongly disputed by Ukrainian government officials. The flight crashed in a fireball near the Kazakhstan city of Aktau on Christmas Day morning. Originally, the flight had taken off from Baku in Azerbaijan and was en route to Grozy in Russia's southern Chechnya region. After making distressing calls to air traffic controllers, pilots went hundreds of miles off course toward Kazakhstan.
At least 38 people are understood to have been killed in the crash. The plane was carrying dozens of passengers, including several children. It has been reported that at least seven people were taken to a nearby hospital with severe injuries. Among those injured are two children.
Dozens of emergency responders raced to the scene of the crash and were seen battling flames as thick black smoke rose from the wreckage. They later found the black box, which later revealed the final transmissions from the pilot to air traffic controllers.
