Azerbaijan held a day of mourning on Thursday for the dozens of victims of an airliner crash in Kazakhstan, as questions were being asked over the cause of the disaster.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are investigating the cause of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the country, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others on Christmas Day. The big picture: Flight J2-8243 was diverted while en route from Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, to Grozny in southern Russia.

We will never forget the beloved people we lost in the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft,” said Azerbaijan Airlines in a statement posted online on Boxing Day. The pro-government AnewZ news station cited Azerbaijan officials as saying shrapnel from a Russian missile was responsible.