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An investigation is underway into the cause of the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people on board the Embraer 190.
Azerbaijan marks a day of mourning for the victims of an air crash that killed 38 people. At least 29 people survived the deadly crash on Christmas Day.
Azerbaijan observed a nationwide minute of silence on Thursday with national flags lowered, traffic halted at noon and signals from ships and trains across the country.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and canceled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a group of former Soviet nations.
Aliyev's office said the president had “ordered the immediate initiation of emergency measures to investigate the causes of the disaster.”
The passenger plane of the country's state carrier crashed near the city of Aktau, western Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.
The Embraer 190 was due to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead veered far off course across the Caspian Sea.
Speculation as to the cause
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but some aviation and military experts said the plane may have been accidentally shot by Russian air defense systems while flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity was reported.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims.
During a press conference on Wednesday, President Aliyev said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, but noted that weather conditions forced the plane to deviate from its planned route.
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to deteriorating weather conditions and headed for Aktau airport, where it crashed on landing,” he said.
According to Kazakh authorities, the 67 on board the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyz citizens. Five of them were crew members.
Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane had flown through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement.
Eleven of the injured are in intensive care, according to Kazakhstan's health ministry. Azerbaijan's state news agency Azertac reported that 12 survivors were airlifted to Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Aliyev and “expressed his condolences in connection with the accident,” his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry has been sent to Aktau with medical personnel and other equipment, Putin said later as he opened a meeting of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg.
