An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was reportedly downed by a Russian air defence system, Reuters reports.
It said that four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation confirmed the development.
DAILY POST reported that an Embraer, passenger jet, crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people.
The plane veered off its scheduled route and went down near Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore.
Kazakh authorities confirmed 28 survivors, including two children, who were hospitalized following the crash.
According to the report, the crash came after the passenger jet diverted from an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defence systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months.
It stated that officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea but the crash came after Ukrainian drone strikes this month hit the Chechnya region of southern Russia.
The nearest Russian airport on the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight downed by Russian air defence system – Report