Today is a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan in memory of the victims of yesterday's crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane "Embraer 190" in the Kazakh city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. An investigation is underway into the causes of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 38 of the 67 people on board, DPA noted, BTA reported.
The national flags of Azerbaijan have been lowered to half-mast in the country as a sign of mourning, and cultural events scheduled for today, as well as any events in theaters and concert halls, have been canceled.
The plane was flying from Baku to the capital of the Russian autonomous republic of Chechnya - Grozny, and due to fog there it was diverted via the capital of another republic of the Russian Federation - Dagestan, Makhachkala.
According to the state airline of Azerbaijan, 37 of the passengers were Azerbaijanis, 16 - Russian citizens, six - Kazakhs, and three - citizens of Kyrgyzstan.
Information from Kazakh media states that the victims are from Azerbaijan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Nine passengers from Russia, including a child, are in serious condition. They were transported to Moscow.
It would be wrong to speculate before the investigators' conclusion on the causes of the plane crash is out, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.