Flags at half-mast

Day of mourning in Azerbaijan after plane crash

Nine injured Russian passengers, including a child, were picked up by a special plane, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.(Bild: AFP)

A day of mourning has begun in Azerbaijan following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan. Flags in the country were flown at half-mast. Cultural events planned for Thursday in theaters and concert halls under the control of the Ministry of Culture were postponed. 

The bodies of the passengers and crew members who died will be transferred to Azerbaijan.

According to Tengrinews, the injured include Russian, Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz nationals.

Facts about flight J28243

• The plane with 67 passengers had taken off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Wednesday. It was scheduled to fly to Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.
• For reasons still unknown, the plane took a course towards the Caspian Sea shortly before landing. The plane finally crashed on the coast near Aktau in Kazakhstan.
• According to official figures, 38 people died in the accident, 29 survived - some of them seriously injured. 

Injured brought to Moscow
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, nine injured Russian passengers, including a child, were picked up by a special plane to be treated in Moscow. Their condition is considered serious.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery
Officially, it is suspected that the passenger plane was damaged by a flock of birds, but newly published photos cast doubt on this explanation. Shortly after the crash, Russian bloggers speculated that the plane could have been hit by Russian air defenses. Pictures that have now been published show the plane's elevator and rudder perforated.