Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev reacted said on Wednesday that a criminal case had been brought over the AZAL passenger plane crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan. He said the Azerbaijani public will be regularly informed about both the results of the commission's work and the progress of the criminal case.

Speculations with unconfirmed reports said that Russian air defense system probably mistook the plane for an Ukrainian drone.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan to Russia to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. A Kazakh official said 38 people had been killed,

BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 25. President Ilham Aliyev, en route to the Russian Federation to attend the informal summit of the heads of state of CIS member countries in St. Petersburg today, was informed, while in the Russian airspace, about a plane crash that occurred in Aktau, Trend reports.

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day has prompted speculation the plane was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes in the fuselage.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a news conference that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, pointing to bad weather as the reason the plane diverted from its original course. "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people," he said.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry has dispatched a plane equipped with medical personnel and specialized equipment to the crash site near Aktau, Kazakhstan, following the tragic incident involving an Azerbaijani airline AZAL passenger plane,

Kazakhstan officials say 38 people have died after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed Wednesday near the Kazakhstan city of Aktau. Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev disclosed the death toll while meeting with Azerbaijani officials,

At least 38 people were killed when a passenger jet crashed in Kazakhstan after it was forced to divert from its intended destination in southern Russia—an area where Moscow’s air defenses have battled Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.

A passenger plane, on way to Russia carrying 67, has crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau; many passengers are feared dead. Stay tuned for Kazakhstan Plane Crash LIVE Updates

A passenger plane crashed near Aktau city in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, with preliminary reports indicating the presence of survivors, according to a statement from the country's Emergencies Ministry.