President Barzani says ‘deeply saddened’ by Azerbaijani plane crash

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday expressed his condolences for the death of dozens of people killed after an Azerbaijani aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan.

Of 69 people on board, 38 died when the Azerbaijani plane crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan nearly three hours after taking off from Baku, reported BBC.

“I’m deeply saddened by the tragic crash of the Azerbaijani aircraft in Kazakhstan. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this disaster,” said Barzani in a post on X.

Flight Radar 24 said in a post on X that the flight altitude moved up and down profoundly.

“During the final 74 minutes of flight #J28243 the vertical speed oscillated between positive and negative values more than 100 times with peak values at -8300 feet per min and +8300 feet per min,” read the post from the flight-tracking website, adding “The aircraft was exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny.”

The cause of the incident is being investigated.

Kurdistan Region and Azerbaijan enjoy good relations and President Barzani has repeatedly emphasized Erbil’s intentions to further bolster ties with Baku.

“The Kurdistan Region stands in solidarity with Azerbaijan during this difficult time,” he said on Wednesday.