The preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the deadly crash of a civilian airliner point to the plane being hit by a Russian antiaircraft missile, or shrapnel from it, said people briefed on the probe.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it crashed, killing 38 people onboard.

The flight was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s south, when it diverted and attempted an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.