It recently became known that the informal CIS summit in Russia will be held without the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
He is returning to Baku. The media say the reason for this is the plane crash that occurred on the morning of December 25.
Let us recall that an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crashed near the city of Aktau (Kazakhstan).
As reported by the TASS agency with reference to the press service of the President of Azerbaijan, the head of state was informed about the incident.
At that moment he was “in Russian airspace.”
Aliyev was heading to St. Petersburg, where an informal summit of CIS leaders was scheduled to take place on December 25.
The head of state gave instructions for an immediate return, the press service noted.
In addition, while on the plane, Aliyev instructed the relevant government agencies to take immediate measures and conduct an investigation into the incident.
Earlier it was reported that the plane crashed on the Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny.
According to media reports, there were 67 passengers and 5 crew members on board the Embraer 190 (according to other sources - 105 passengers and 5 crew members).
According to available information, 12 people, including a child, were taken to the Mangistau Regional Hospital.
Azerbaijan Airlines has named a collision with a flock of birds as the preliminary cause of the plane crash.
