Putin apologizes for 'tragic incident' but stops short of saying Azerbaijani plane was shot down

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Putin's apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

An official Kremlin statement issued Saturday said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny airport as the airliner “repeatedly” attempted to land there on Wednesday. It did not explicitly say one of these hit the plane.

The statement said Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

The readout said Russia has launched a criminal probe into the incident, and Azerbaijani state prosecutors have arrived in Grozny to participate. The Kremlin also said that “relevant services” from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.

According to a readout of the call provided by Aliyev’s press office, the Azerbaijani president told Putin that the plane was subject to "external physical and technical interference," although he also stopped short of blaming Russian air defenses.

Aliyev noted that the plane had multiple holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained injuries “due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”

He said that a team of international experts had begun probing the incident at Azerbaijan's initiative, but provided no details. Earlier this week, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's office confirmed that investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny.

On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon, echoing those made by aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack.

President Joe Biden, responding on Saturday to a reporter asking whether he thought Putin should take responsibility for the crash, said: “Apparently he did but I haven’t spoken to him.”

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau.

Earlier in the week, Rosaviatsia had cited unspecified early evidence as showing that a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

In the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details.

If proven that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian fire, it would be the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.

Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.

Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and nearby Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.

Several other airlines have made similar announcements since the crash. Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air on Friday said it would stop flying from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.

Turkmenistan Airlines, the Central Asian country’s flagship carrier, on Saturday halted flights to Moscow for at least a month, citing safety concerns. Earlier this week, Israel’s El Al carrier suspended service from Tel Aviv to the Russian capital, citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.”

People stand at a street memorial outside the Azerbaijani embassy in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

People attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People attend the funeral of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau at the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau at the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau at the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau at the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

The tomb of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near the Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

People carry the body of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crash near Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, at his funeral, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Office, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in connection with the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Office via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Sergei Ilyin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)

HOUSTON (AP) — At least one person has died and four more were injured as several tornadoes touched down in the Houston area on Saturday, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.

One person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that weren't considered critical, said Madison Polston, spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office.

North of Houston, tornadoes touched down in Katy, Cypress, Porter Heights and Splendora, according to the National Weather Service, while south of Houston, multiple homes were destroyed when a tornado touched down between Alvin and Liverpool.

Polston said there were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said that so far they know of around 10 damaged homes but they are still working to determine the extent of the damage.

Mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

Early Saturday afternoon, Houston's two main airports — Houston Bush Intercontinental and Houston Hobby — had departure delays of over an hour that were increasing due to the storms, according to the website FlightAware.

Saul Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove debris atop a car from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Sheet metal from a nearby home is seen after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Saul Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove debris atop a car from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)