Azerbaijan`s president says Russia unintentionally shot down jetliner

The president of Azerbaijan said Sunday that the passenger plane that crashed last week, killing 38 people, was unintentionally shot down by the Russian military. He also accused Russia of trying to "hush up" the issue for several days, reports cbsnews.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told state television on Sunday that the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was "shot down by accident."

"We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done," he said.

He added that the plane had come under some sort of electrical jamming and had been shot at while it was approaching the southern Russian city of Grozny.

Aliyev accused Russia of trying to "hush up" the issue for several days, saying he was "upset and surprised" by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

"Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard only absurd versions from Russia," Aliyev said, citing statements made in Russia that attributed the crash to birds or the explosion of some sort of gas cylinder.

The Azerbaijani plane was flying from the capital city of Baju to Grozny on Wednesday when it diverted off course. It crashed while trying to reach another airport in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan.

Cellphone footage appears to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball about two miles from the Aktau airport.

The airline said 67 people were on board — 62 passengers and five crew members — and 38 people died in the crash. There were 29 survivors._Agencies.