Índia, Hindustan Times, Inglês

A preliminary probe into the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner near Kazakhstan, suggests that a bird collision might have played a role in the emergency which led to the crash in which at least 35 people are feared dead, Reuters reported quoting Russia’s aviation watchdog.

“Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency on board, its commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen,” Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Telegram.

The aircraft, which was flying from Azerbaijan’s Baku to Russia’s Grozny crashed with 62 passengers and five crew members on board. As per Kazakh authorities, 32 survivors, including two children, were rescued.

Azerbaijan Airlines plane was forced to make emergency landing

Azerbaijan Airlines confirmed that the flight had been forced to make an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) from Aktau, and officials did not immediately provide an explanation for why the plane had crossed the Caspian Sea.

However, the crash occurred shortly after drone strikes targeted southern Russia, and a nearby Russian airport had been closed due to ongoing drone activity, Reuters reported.

This raised questions about whether airspace restrictions might have played a role in the jet’s emergency diversion.

Authorities in Kazakhstan said a government commission had been set up to investigate what had happened and its members were ordered to fly to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and injured were getting the help they needed.

Russian Prez Putin expresses condolences

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences as did Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, who had decided to return home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, his office said.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said some of those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.