The Azerbaijani government has stated that weapons may have been a contributing factor in the crash of a passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, earlier this week, which claimed the lives of 38 people.
“The investigation will determine the type of weapon responsible for this crash,” Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev said, as reported by Azerbaijan’s state news agency, Azertag.
Nabiyev noted that wreckage and witness accounts suggest the plane sustained external damage while en route to its destination at the airport in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic.
“Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, followed by something striking the plane,” he stated.
During the incident on Wednesday morning, Russian air defenses reportedly engaged Ukrainian drones in the area. Nabiyev did not indicate who may have been responsible for the strike on the plane.
