Azerbaijan is observing a day of mourning for the victims of an air crash that killed 38 people. At least 29 people survived the deadly crash on Christmas day.

Azerbaijan observed a nationwide moment of silence on Thursday, with national flags lowered, traffic coming to a halt at noon, and signals sounding from ships and trains across the country.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations.

Aliyev’s office said the president “ordered the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster”.

The passenger jet from the country’s flag carrier crashed near the city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.

The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea.

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Speculation on the cause

An investigation into the cause of the crash is under way but some aviation and military experts said the plane may have been accidentally shot by Russian air defence systems as it was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported.

During a news conference on Wednesday, President Aliyev said that it was too early to determine the cause of the crash but noted that weather conditions had forced the plane to divert from its planned route.

“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.

According to Kazakh officials, the 67 on board the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals. Five of them were crew members.

Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement.

Eleven of the injured are in intensive care, according to the Kazakh health ministry. Azerbaijan state news agency Azertac reported that 12 survivors were being flown to Azerbaijan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Aliyev and “expressed his condolences in connection with the crash”, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference.

A Russian emergency situations ministry had been sent to Aktau with medical personnel and other equipment, Putin said later as he opened the CIS leaders’ meeting in Saint Petersburg.

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