Footage of an Azerbajian Airlines plane that crashed and killed 38 people shows suspicious holes in the fuselage, leading to rumours that the aircraft was shot down by Russians.
The flight from Azerbajian’s capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny crashed with 67 passengers and five crew members on board near Aktau, western Kazakhstan, this morning.
According to the plane’s course on Flight Radar 24, it was flying over the republic of Dagestan along the Caspian Sea coast, after which it disappeared from tracking, suggesting it was exposed to air defense systems in Russia.
It then showed up around an hour later off course and flying low above the water near western Kazakhstan before crashing.
Ahead of the crash, the crew had reported a strong impact on the hull. They assumed the aircraft hit a flock of birds but later it was reported that it was the explosion of an oxygen tank to supply the cockpit in the event of depressurisation.
This supposed sudden depressurisation of the cylinder caused significant damage to the hull and its ‘scattering into fragments’.
But new footage showing gaping holes in the side of the wreckage has raised questions whether birds or an exploded oxygen tank could have downed the plane.
There have been suggestions that Russian air defences might have caused the crash as ‘this doesn’t seem like birds’.
Footage of an Azerbajian Airlines plane that crashed and killed 38 people shows suspicious holes in the fuselage, leading to rumours that the aircraft was shot down by Russians
This is the horrific moment a passenger plane hit the ground in a fireball in a Christmas Day crash landing
New footage showing gaping holes in the side of the wreckage has raised questions whether birds or an exploded oxygen tank could have downed the plane. There have been suggestions that Russian air defences might have caused the crash as ‘this doesn’t seem like birds’
Footage shows scared passengers praying and some oxygen masks lowered with damage inside the cabin minutes before the plane crashes and breaks apart in Kazakhstan, with 42 people feared dead
A firefighter is seen above climbing through debris in the upside-down plane
Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov said speculation by Russian media included that Russian air defences mistook the passenger jet for a Ukrainian drone.
It is known the Embraer 190, belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines, was attempting to land at Russian airport Grozny, capital of Chechnya region, which at the time was under attack by Ukrainian drones.
The plane was barred from landing – with the official reason given as ‘fog’.
It is known Chechnya and three bordering areas were under attack, and that a shopping mall ignited into an inferno with a drone strike win Vladikavkaz, capital of Russian region North Ossetia.
It is also reported from security officials that Chechen air defences opened fire on drones, striking and exploding at least one. Questions have now been raised over whether the plane was damaged by anti-drone gunfire from the ground as it sought to land in Grozny.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Russia‘s Interfax news agency reported.
Footage filmed by a passenger shows terrified people praying and some oxygen masks lowered with damage inside the cabin minutes before the plane crashed and broke apart in Kazakhstan, leaving 38 dead.
Other footage shows mayhem inside the plane after the crash as rescuers went inside the severed rear of the aircraft, where several people can be seen lying on the ground. Astonishingly, some were found still alive.
One trapped woman shouted at rescuers: ‘Help me please!’. A firefighter asked her whether she needed help to get up, and she confirmed that she would need to be lifted out of the debris.
It is understood that the 29 people reported to have survived the crash were found in the rear section of the aircraft, with the front being badly destroyed by fire.
Latest figures indicate 22 of the 29 survivors are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in serious condition. At least ten people dying after reportedly being thrown out of the cabin.
One terrifying video shows the moment the plane burst into flames and broke into several parts as it hit the ground, with thick black smoke rising up from the wrecked aircraft after.
Later bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Azerbaijan Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, said the Embraer 190 had ‘made an emergency landing’ around three kilometres from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
‘A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines,’ the Kazakh ministry said on Telegram.
The Embraer E190AR with registration number 4K-AZ65 sent out a distress signal at an altitude of 2,125 feet over the Caspian Sea.
The footage taken moments before the plane crashed were filmed by a passenger who sent it to his wife
Terrified passengers can be seen on the plane as oxygen masks dropped down, just before the crash
Latest figures indicate 22 of the 29 survivors are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in serious condition. One survivor is pictured in hospital above
Rescuers are pictured crawling into the plane wreck to look for survivors
People are seen standing next to the rear of the crashed passenger jet
One trapped woman shouted at rescuers: ‘Help me please!’. A firefighter asked her whether she needed help to get up, and she confirmed that she would need to be lifted out of the debris
There were 105 passengers and five crew members on board the fight from Azerbaijan capital Baku to Russian city Grozny. Earlier reports had suggested 67 on board
Footage of the crash showed the plane bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising
Emergency services are pictured above at the scene of the plane crash
Footage from the crash site shows rescuers looking for survivors of the horrific crash
The front of the plane burst into flames when the aircraft hit the ground
Dramatic new footage showed the pilot pulling the plane out of a steep fall as he sought to regain control, but the aircraft still suffered a catastrophic crash exploding in fire. The two main sites of the wreck at Aktau airport were hundreds of yards apart.
Mangled human remains from the horror crash were strewn on rough ground at the airport.
Dazed and bloodied passengers are seen emerging from the severed rear of the plane. Some sat in shock on the ground after escaping from the aircraft. Others managed to walk clear.
Meanwhile, the front of the aircraft – torn asunder by the crash – could be seen ablaze in the distance.
Plane crash survivor Kristina Evstigneeva, 34, a travel agent from Vladivostok, was in a serious condition and had to undergo brain surgery after the plane crash in Kazakhstan.
Another survivor Zaur Mamedov, 36, was returning from his father’s funeral in Baku.
The plane attempted to land at Aktau in western Kazakhstan after being rerouted from Grozny and another Russian city Makhachkala due to fog.
Two of the 29 survivors are children, believed to be girls aged 11 and 16.
Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact
The front of the aircraft – torn asunder by the crash – could be seen ablaze in the distance
At least ten people died after being thrown out of the plane
The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, December 25
‘They are receiving all the necessary medical care in hospitals in the region,’ said the Ministry of Health. ’23 ambulance teams were mobilised to the scene of the incident.’
Unconfirmed reports said that both pilots died in the crash, and from the crew only a female flight attendant survived.
Tengrinews reported 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan and three of Kyrgyzstan were on board the stricken plane.
Following the crash, Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, was returning home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to Aliyev over the loss of life, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
‘Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev was forced to leave St Petersburg (where he had a summit). Putin has already called him and expressed his condolences in connection with the crash of the Azerbaijani plane in Aktau,’ Peskov said.
‘We deeply sympathise with those who lost their relatives and friends in this plane crash and wish a speedy recovery to all those who managed to survive.’
Another angle shows a massive fireball where the aircraft hit the ground
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
Reports said the plane collided with a bird and suffered a steering failure. The aircraft is seen coming in steeply descending its nose pointing down too steeply
In this handout picture released by Kazakhstan’s emergency situations ministry, emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25
Aktau residents have been asked to donate blood for the survivors.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said a government commission had been set up to investigate what had happened and its members ordered to fly to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and injured were getting the help they needed.
Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, the government said.
Grozny – the destination – is the capital of the Chechnya republic, a Russian region controlled by Vladimir Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov which regularly sends troops to fight in the war against Ukraine.