Azerbaijani authorities believe the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile, several media reported Thursday.
The jet was en route from the country’s capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya, southern Russia, on Wednesday but crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan.
Euronews cited Azerbaijani government sources as saying that “shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight”.
Military and aviation experts have pointed to apparent shrapnel damage on the fuselage of the plane.
Euronews also cited its sources saying the damaged plane “was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing”.
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