Harrowing footage of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that tragically crashed killing 38 people on Christmas morning has emerged, revealing suspicious holes in the aircraft’s fuselage.

Local media sources are beginning to speculate that the plane might have been shot down by Russian forces.

The flight was journeying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia and met its ill-fated end near Aktau in western Kazakhstan during the early hours, with 67 passengers and five crew members on board.

According to Flight Radar 24, the plane was navigating above the Republic of Dagestan along the Caspian Sea coast before it disappeared from tracking. This raises concerns about its exposure to Russian air defense systems in the area.

The plane reappeared nearly an hour later, having veered off course and flying unusually low over water near Kazakhstan’s western region before crashing.

Prior to the crash, the crew reported a significant impact on the hull, initially suggesting the aircraft collided with a flock of birds. However, subsequent reports indicated that an explosion of the oxygen tank used to supply air to the cockpit during depressurization might have been responsible.

This sudden change in pressure from the oxygen tank severely damaged the hull, shattering it into fragments. Yet, new video evidence displaying large holes in the wreckage prompts further questions on whether birds or an exploded tank could indeed be the culprits.

There is increasing speculation that Russian military defenses might have inadvertently caused the crash, as the nature of the damage appears beyond what birds could inflict.