Minister: Claim about oxygen tank explosion on AZAL plane made by dispatcher in Rostov

The claim about the oxygen tank explosion on the plane was put forward by the dispatcher in Rostov, Azerbaijani Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said commenting on Kazakh officials' statements regarding the crash of AZAL's Embraer 190 aircraft, Report informs.

"In their statements, Kazakh officials refer to the claim by the dispatcher in Rostov about the oxygen tank explosion on the plane. We believe that first of all, the accuracy of this information needs to be verified. This is information provided by an interested party. Regarding the facts refuting this, I also noted that the explosion sounds came from outside," the minister said.

A passenger aircraft belonging to AZAL operating the Baku-Grozny flight crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25. Of the 67 people on board the airplane, 42 were citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, 6 of Kazakhstan, and 3 of Kyrgyzstan. Thirty-eight of them died, while 29 survived.