(KAZAKHSTAN) — Survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan reported hearing thuds and explosions from outside the aircraft during the flight, as the cause of the deadly catastrophe remains under investigation.
The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau Airport on Wednesday morning, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, Kazakh officials said.
An Azeri crew member who survived the crash told ABC News in a phone call from his hospital room on Friday that he heard three thuds as they were flying over Grozny, Russia. He said he believes the noises came from outside the plane.
The crew member, who did not provide his name as crew members have not been authorized to speak with the media, said he sustained injuries to his left arm in the crash. He was hospitalized in Aktau but has since been transferred to a hospital in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The aircraft was flying from Baku to Grozny but couldn’t land due to heavy fog, according to the crew member. The flight was rerouted to Aktau in Kazakhstan when it crashed while trying to land.
A passenger told Reuters from his hospital bed that he heard a bang, saw oxygen masks falling down and that the fuselage was damaged. He said he initially thought the plane was going to fall apart and started praying.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” the passenger, Subhonkul Rakhimov, told Reuters. “It was as if it was drunk — not the same plane anymore.”
Rakhimov said he was “thrown back and forth” while strapped in and then it was quiet, at which point he realized that they had landed.
Another passenger told Reuters she felt “two explosions” about 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff. A flight attendant told Reuters there were injuries on the flight “from the impact of the external blows,” and that he hurt his arm.
Azerbaijan’s transport minister said Friday that passengers and flight attendants on the plane heard explosions “from outside, and then something touched the plane” over Grozny, per local media.
Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan authorities are investigating the crash. The cause is still being determined, but multiple sources point to potential Russian involvement.
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Friday that there are “early indications” that the plane could have been brought down by Russian air defense systems, but he added that the investigation is ongoing.
A high-level Azeri government source told ABC News on Thursday that there is new evidence emerging that the plane may have been shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile.
The plane was flying over an area where Moscow’s air defense has battled Ukrainian drones recently.
Videos and photos of the plane after the crash show bullet holes in parts of the plane.
“Preliminary expert opinions indicate the presence of outside interference,” Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transport, said Friday. “This is evidenced by the appearance of the plane’s wreckage on the ground and eyewitness testimonies.”
Azerbaijan Airlines also said Friday the preliminary results of the investigation show the crash was due to “physical and technical external interference.”
The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter until the investigation into the crash is completed.
“The investigation into the air accident is ongoing. And we do not think we have a right to give any assessments and will not do so until conclusions are drawn based on the results of the investigation,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. “We have our own aviation authorities that can do it, and this information may come only from them.”
The head of Russia’s federal air transport agency, Dmitry Yadrov, shifted possible blame onto Ukraine for the crash.
“The situation in the Grozny Airport area was rather complicated on that day and at those hours. Ukrainian drones were conducting terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov said Friday, according to state media.
Azerbaijan Airlines has temporarily suspended flights from Baku to 10 Russian cities “due to physical and technical external interference and considers potential risks to flight safety,” the airline said on Friday.
“The suspension will remain in effect until the completion of the final investigation,” it added.
Several other airlines, including El Al, Flydubai and Qazaq Air, have also suspended flights to various Russian cities in the wake of the crash.
ABC News’ Tomek Rolski, Michelle Stoddart and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
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