Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan has published the names of Kazakhstani citizens who died in the plane crash near Aktau.

Tengrinews.kz - Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev provided details about the Kazakhstanis who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crash near Aktau on5.

During an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested observing a moment of silence to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the crash. On behalf of all CIS leaders in attendance, Putin expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wished a swift recovery to the injured.

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.

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.

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.

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,

Europa Press has pointed out: "Two hours into the flight, the aircraft requested an emergency landing but was denied due to fog in Grozny, so it was diverted first to Makhachkala, in Russian Dagestan, and then to Aktau."

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,