Kremlin responds to speculation surrounding plane crash in Kazakhstan

Russian and Kazakh officials have spoken out about speculation surrounding the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan.

On December 25, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 Embraer 190 carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 people. After a large-scale rescue operation, 29 people were lucky to survive.

Scene of the plane crash in Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024

The Guardian quoted a spokesman for Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations as saying on December 26 that experts were working to identify the bodies of those killed in the plane crash. Of the survivors, 11 victims are in intensive care.

The Embraer 190 was scheduled to fly to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, but it veered off course over the Caspian Sea. The plane then crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Video footage of the crash appears to show the plane plummeting from the sky and bursting into flames as it hit the ground.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 26 that an investigation into the cause of the accident was underway and stressed that speculation would be "wrong" without a conclusion from local authorities.

The cause of the crash has not yet been clarified, said Ashimbayev Maulen, chairman of the Kazakh Senate, on December 26. "None of these countries - Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan - want to hide information. All information will be made public," Maulen stressed. The Kazakh official also criticized speculation that the crash was caused by Moscow's air defense system as baseless and "unethical".

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it was too early to speculate about the reasons behind the crash, adding that bad weather forced the plane to change its planned route.

Holes in the fuselage of the Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024

Kazakhstan said the plane's black boxes had been found, Interfax reported. Azerbaijan's AzerTAc news agency said an official delegation including the emergencies minister, deputy prosecutor general and vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines had been sent to Aktau to conduct an on-site investigation.

The statements by officials from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan came amid widespread speculation about the cause of the accident.

Reuters cited several sources as saying the plane was shot down by an anti-aircraft system. The Telegram channel Fighterbomber also posted a clip that appeared to show holes in the wreckage, which many said looked like damage from gunfire. A post on Flightradar24's X site said: "The plane suffered from severe GPS interference, resulting in poor ADS-B transmission." This has fueled speculation that the flight was affected by a possible drone attack.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dien-kremlin-len-tieng-ve-don-doan-quanh-vu-roi-may-bay-o-kazakhstan-185241226225234377.htm