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US Official: Russian Air Defense May Have Downed Passenger Jet; Hospital: Israeli Strike Kills Five Journalists in Gaza; Finland Boards Oil Tanker Suspected of Causing Internet, Power Cable Outages. Aired 4-430p ET

Aired December 26, 2024 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:20]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I am Bianna Golodryga. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Families are searching for answers after the deadly Christmas crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan. The US is now weighing in, telling CNN early indications suggest that the plane may have been downed by a Russian anti-aircraft system. At least 38 people on board were killed in the disaster, and remarkably, there are 29 survivors.

CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice over): This is the moment an Azerbaijani plane attempted an emergency landing, bursting into flames upon impact.

Rescuers rushed to the scene, extinguishing the fire that engulfed the front of the plane and pulling out dazed survivors from the wreckage.

Out of 67 people on board, including crew, at least 38 died. Remarkably, 29 people, including two children, survived and were taken to hospitals.

Questions swirled on why the plane, which took off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku en route to Grozny in Russia, diverted to Kazakhstan. Flightradar24 shows the plane flying across the Caspian Sea and circling in the Kazakh city of Aktau before the crash, in a pattern, an aviation expert says indicates loss of flight control systems.

The crash came shortly after drone strikes hit Southern Russia, and while investigators say they are exploring all scenarios, multiple Azerbaijani sources have told Reuters that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses.

Video verified by Reuters reveals a rare glimpse into the last moments on board the flight. Oxygen masks down as the camera tilts to the window, showing damage to the wing.

Then, in another geolocated social media video, the plane appears to nosedive. In the resulting explosion, the plane fuselage is broken into parts, with its rear half miraculously landing almost intact, but upturned. Parts of the plane scattered across a wide radius. Bodies seen covered in blue blankets.

Russia and Azerbaijan evacuated their injured citizens as families in Baku waited to see if their loved ones had survived.

For Azerbaijan, it is a time of mourning.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

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GOLODRYGA: Now officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are urging people not to speculate about the crash until investigations are over. Earlier, I spoke with our safety analyst David Soucie, who is also a former FAA safety inspector. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Yesterday, we did talk about the fact that they were saying it was a bird strike at first, and we just didn't see that this flight profile matched that at all, and now it makes more sense to me in investigating this, and now we also have this video.

So if we look at -- I've been reviewing the video and the photographs that we had from the MH17 accident, which was years ago, but in that case, there were larger holes that went through the aircraft. So in trying to determine what caused this or what it was, I looked into why these holes would be different now than they were with the MH370, excuse me, with the MH17 and it makes sense now because they've been upgraded, these missiles now, the Pantsir-S is a missile that has smaller projectiles that come out with it. They are more designed for drones and that sort of thing.

So it is more likely in my mind now, after analyzing these photographs and some of the information about how the aircraft flew and how it hit the ground, it makes a lot more sense to me now that it was indeed some type of missile or attack from the side of the aircraft, not from the front.

GOLODRYGA: And the flight path of the plane in the minutes prior to crashing has also raised some speculation as to the cause as well, and perhaps some of that can be answered once investigators really dig into the black box itself of the plane, but just the flight path, and perhaps why it didn't land immediately in Grozny, but then was somehow diverted to Kazakhstan. What do you make of that?

SOUCIE: Well, the diversion, I think, had to do with the fact that the closest airport that was there for them to land at was closed yesterday, and so they had to make an alternate -- take an alternate airport and this must have been their alternate airport as to why they went to the other location.

As far as the flight path goes, typically if it was a bird strike or a power issue only, the aircraft would still fly straight. It would just have a lot of ups and downs, a lot of altitude drops and a lot of rises and that we see in this aircraft, but we also see this left and right motion, the uncontrollability of the aircraft.

[16:05:13]

And you would tie that to more of a flight control failure of some kind, which these missiles are designed to do that with the small projectiles, the shrapnel goes in and damages hydraulic systems, hydraulic pumps, various things that control that aircraft. So it would be more in line in my mind that this type of flight pattern, the erratic left and right and lack of control. And you can see it is not very well lined up on the runway at all as he was coming in as well.

So that would indicate to me that there was a loss, at least minimal loss of flight control systems and perhaps a total loss of flight control at the end.

GOLODRYGA: Will we be able to get definitive answers as to the cause of this crash once the black box is fully evaluated and investigated?

SOUCIE: Absolutely, yes.

The evidence on site is pretty convincing for me already because you have things coming in, folding metal in on one side and folding metal out on the other, which would indicate that that projectile went through the aircraft. So there is pretty convincing evidence at that point.

But the black boxes will be able to verify what happened to the control systems whether the pumps were still working, whether or not the pressure inside of those hydraulic control systems were working. So there is a lot of information we can still get from the black boxes, and I am sure that we will get that pretty quickly, because those are already in the hands of the authorities now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Turning to other news, Health officials in Gaza say four babies whose families are living in tents have frozen to death over the past week. The head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital says it is "one of the disastrous results" of what he calls Israel's "criminal war."

Authorities at another hospital say an Israeli strike killed five journalists overnight. You can see the back of their vehicle was marked press when it was hit. Now, Israel confirmed the strike, saying that it targeted Islamic jihad militants posing as journalists.

This, as Israel also carried out strikes in Yemen today, hitting the international airport in Sanaa, as well as military facilities. Houthi run media says at least four people were killed. The World Health Organization chief says he and his team were just meters away from the blast at the airport.

The strikes come after a series of Houthi attacks against Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is determined to root out what he calls a branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil.

So let's bring in Elliott Gotkine from Jerusalem with more on this.

And, Elliott, we are starting to get initial images from the aftermath of these strikes in Sanaa. How extensive are they? And can we expect to see more?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Bianna, well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has certainly said that there will be more strikes, whether or not they would be on the airport or not is another matter. But what Israel says it was trying to do with the strikes on the airport and also on a couple of power stations, is really to take out some of the infrastructure that the Houthis have been using to lob ballistic missiles towards Israel. There have been four over the last seven nights.

On four of those nights over the past week, millions of Israelis have been forced to scramble towards the nearest safe room or bomb shelter, including myself, along with my 11-year-old daughter on Saturday night, as the sirens have sounded across the country.

And indeed the one on Saturday night actually got through, landing in a sandpit in a park, somehow missing the surrounding buildings in the southern part of Tel Aviv.

And as you said in your introduction, what Israel is now doing with these strikes is hitting what really seems to be one of the last standing legs of Iranian proxies in the area. Israel, taking the view that, look, they've decimated Hamas in Gaza. They have battered Hezbollah into agreeing to go back to the Litani River, somewhat 30 kilometers or so north of the border between Israel and Lebanon, as agreed when they ended the 2006 War.

And so really, it is just the Houthis that seem capable or willing to keep firing these missiles towards Israel. So Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that Israel will not stop until the Houthis, in his words, have learned that they can't get away with firing these ballistic missiles towards Israel without consequences.

So, as you say, the main airport in Sanaa, the first time Israel has hit Yemen's main airport, and also a couple of power stations and as you say, the director general of the World Health Organization, having a rather narrow miss, by all accounts, and one of the crew members of the plane that he was due to board being among those who were injured in the strikes carried out by Israel aimed at the Houthis in Yemen -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And the significance of these strikes, Elliott, is just you look at the distance between Israel and Yemen unlike any other situations where they have fired into enemy territory, that would be at their border. This, you have a distance of over a thousand miles between the two.

[16:10:09]

GOTKINE: Yes, far more complicated than dealing with Hezbollah over the border in Lebanon, and Hamas, of course, surrounded on three or four sides by Israel. But Israel has shown that it is capable of doing so. This is what -- the fourth time that Israel has carried out strikes aimed at Houthis. And of course, when it comes to Yemen, it is not acting alone.

We've seen strikes from the United States also aimed at Houthi positions and Houthi munitions and missiles as well, because the Houthis haven't just been striking at Israel, they've also been menacing one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, causing a lot of disruption to global shipping. Many ships now having to avoid the Suez Canal and take the long way round the southern part of Africa instead.

So Israel, not completely alone in this one, but as you say, much more complicated and much harder for Israel to deal a devastating blow to the Houthis than it was with Hezbollah, which, of course, is just over the border.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Elliott Gotkine, glad to hear you and your daughter are safe. Thank you so much.

Well, still ahead, a bird flu outbreak has killed more than a dozen animals at a wildlife sanctuary, including bobcats and cougars. We will have a live report and explain what precautions are being taken.

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GOLODRYGA: Finnish authorities have seized a possible Russian-linked oil tanker that is suspected of damaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea. These photos, shared by Finnish Police, show the pursuit of the ship suspected of cutting a power line and several internet cables connecting Finland and Estonia.

Authorities also believe the aging tanker is part of a so-called Shadow Fleet that is helping Russia evade western sanctions.

Joining me now from London is Michelle Wiese Bockmann. She is a principal analyst at Lloyd's List Intelligence and a markets editor at Lloyd's List.

Michelle, thank you so much for joining us.

First and foremost, what do we know about this Eagle S tanker?

MICHELLE WIESE BOCKMANN, PRINCIPAL ANALYST AT LLOYD'S LIST INTELLIGENCE AND MARKETS EDITOR AT LLOYD'S LIST: Good evening. Well, this ship is one of about 26 ships that belong to a cluster of dark fleet tankers that are being used by Russia to evade western sanctions. It is one of linked to three related companies, two of which have been sanctioned by the UK government 12 months ago for being part of Putin's fleet and we also know that the ship is in terrible condition.

It has recently been found to have a number of safety deficiencies and that it is an environmental risk and it is a danger, a safety danger to the crew. And now that we know it is probably a security danger as well.

GOLODRYGA: So we know the S links to submarine cable, which was cut yesterday, carries electricity, as we noted, between Finland and Estonia.

[16:15:05]

It is just the latest of a series of disruptions that we have seen to undersea infrastructure, especially in the Baltic Region there. And Finland's prime minister said it underscored the danger of a so-called Russian Shadow Fleet.

You touched on this as well. Explain to our viewers what a Shadow Fleet actually is.

BOCKMANN: Well, the Shadow Fleet are a group of tankers that usually are old and in bad condition, anonymously owned. The beneficial owner is obscured, and they are solely deployed in shipping sanctioned oil, in this case, Russian oil, but also Venezuelan and Iranian oil.

There is about 670 of them worldwide, about 300 of them are solely deployed shipping Russian oil, and they total about 14.5 percent of the international trading tanker fleet. It has tripled in size since Russia invaded Ukraine as Russia seeks ways to evade western sanctions and the G7 price cap on oil and a rising danger to the waters through which they sail, including the Danish Strait in this case, and they also come down through the English Channel.

GOLODRYGA: Does this happen to give Russia plausible deniability in terms of direct evidence linking their ships with the intention of cutting these cables? Because even the Finnish prime minister said that there was no direct evidence that the Eagle S was connected to Russia.

BOCKMANN: Well, this is the very nature of the Dark Fleet is that they are deliberately constructed in order to be able to conceal the ultimate beneficial owner. In the case of the Eagle S, we know that it is linked to a Russian oil company or the trading arm of a Russian oil company called the LITASCO, because the 26 vessels were formed back in, you know, from mid-2023, and then they had long term or what we call in the shipping industry, bareboat charters with LITASCO.

So we know that they are solely formed and this vessel is solely used to benefit Russia's oil trade and to fund the war in Ukraine.

So there is no direct link, but make no mistake, these Dark Fleet vessels going through these waters are a safety and environmental threat, and now a security threat.

GOLODRYGA: A security threat, we should note to NATO countries. So I am wondering if this action by Finland is a one-off or perhaps this is a change in direction in the course of how these countries will be addressing these acts, because they are very damaging. Obviously, there is a huge risk and disruption to services. They are costly. And it seems for months, we haven't seen action quite like this.

Do you think this is a one-off, or do you think that were going to see a change in how these countries respond to this type of behavior?

BOCKMANN: Well, so far this year, there have been three merchant ships that have been linked to cable cutting incidents. And the last two were able to sail uninterrupted even though they were suspected of undertaking those activities. What is really unusual for today's incident is that the Finnish government and authorities were able to board the vessel. They have detained the vessel and taken it into Finnish waters.

Prior to this, only on the weekend, a ship that was involved, a China flagged ship that was involved in a suspected cable cutting incident had been at anchor in international waters in the Danish Strait and that sailed away without any consequence.

So what is happening here now is really uncharted.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and we will see if it continues or perhaps puts an end to this type of disruption in the future.

Michelle Wiese Bockmann, thank you so much.

BOCKMANN: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, an outbreak of bird flu is killing big cats at a sanctuary in Washington State. The first death occurred around the Thanksgiving holiday about a month ago. The sanctuary says 20 animals have now died, including African servals, bobcats, and cougars. It is unclear how the big cats contracted the bird flu.

The sanctuary is under quarantine and currently closed to the public.

Joining us now is CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

Meg, always good to see you.

So this is alarming indeed, and the question is can the bird flu then be transmitted to humans, given what we are seeing transpire with big cats?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, we've seen a lot of news from cats and bird flu in the last couple of days. The big cat news, of course, which is very sad, but also little cat news, house cats we have been hearing about dying from infection from H5N1 bird flu. The most recent was from Oregon state, where they ate some raw frozen turkey cat food that has now been recalled that was found to be contaminated with this H5N1 virus. They became infected, this cat, and died.

We've also heard about house cats that have died after drinking raw milk infected with H5N1. So far, we have not heard about cats giving H5N1 to their owners or any human transmission from the big cats out there on that Washington sanctuary.

[16:20:11]

And the main concern really is whether humans will be able to spread this well from one person to another, because we have a lot of cases, or at least 65 cases now and more coming sort of every day of a lot of farm workers who have been infected by the animals that they are working with, mostly from dairy cattle, but we've also had significant number of cases of workers working with poultry flocks. There have been a couple of cases where we don't know where the people got infected, and one from a backyard flock.

And so the messaging really right now from public health authorities is you have to be really careful about contact with animals and with wildlife, particularly if they seem sick at all. That is something to stay away from.

GOLODRYGA: Something to keep an eye on, indeed.

Meg Tirrell, always good to see you. Thank you.

The former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has died. Singh was known as the Reluctant King when he became prime minister in 2004, because he never aspired to such a lofty government position.

He started his career as an economist and was widely praised for modernizing the Indian economy and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA (voice over): Manmohan Singh became India's 14th prime minister almost by accident. In 2004, after unexpectedly winning national elections, Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi decided she didn't want the country's top job after all. Instead, she turned to her friend Singh, until then, known for his role in unleashing a bold wave of economic reforms in the early 90s when he was finance minister.

His policies saved India from almost certain bankruptcy. They also helped transform it into one of the world's top emerging economies, and he promised to do more when he became India's leader.

MANMOHAN SINGH, INDIA'S FORMER PRIME MINISTER: We've always said economic reforms with emphasis on the human element will continue.

GOLODRYGA (voice over): But critics say that pace of reforms slowed on his watch and ties with archrival, Pakistan soured after this. The 2008 attacks on Mumbai, blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan, shattered an ongoing peace process.

Singh's government was also accused of failing to protect the country. Ties with the US strengthened. Singh signed a landmark nuclear deal with president George W. Bush in 2005, and in 2009 he was guest of honor at US President Barack Obama's first White House State Dinner.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This visit reflects the high esteem in which I and the American people hold your wise leadership.

GOLODRYGA (voice over): At home, though, Indians were beginning to tire of his government.

In 2014, after his two terms as prime minister, his Congress Party was booted out. Singh's achievements, overshadowed by high profile corruption cases under his administration.

India voted in Narendra Modi and his BJP.

MIHIR SHARMA, COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG OPINION: Manmohan Singh came into office with an extraordinary amount of hope, an extraordinary amount of expectation attached to him, much like his successor. But he was not really able to live up to that degree of expectation.

GOLODRYGA (voice over): Although Singh was never personally accused of being corrupt, his image took a hit.

SHARMA: I think Manmohan Singh's legacy is likely to center around the reforms of 1991, which really were India's coming out party to the world.

GOLODRYGA (voice over): The jury is still out on the question of whether or not he lived up to his potential as prime minister.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Today marks 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. About 230,000 people were killed across the region from Indonesia to Somalia.

In Indonesia's Aceh Province, the worst hit area, hundreds of people gathered for moments of silence and prayer. Mourners laid flowers on gravestones.

In Thailand, flowers were placed at the tsunami memorial wall in the country's hardest hit province, where the tsunami claimed more than 5,000 lives. Many tourists were on vacation at the time.

And in India, fishing communities and victims' families lit candles and offered flowers to pay tribute to the many lives lost. A massive wave was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's Coast.

Two decades later, communities have been rebuilt, but families still feel the impact of the devastation.

Well, coming up, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens took home wins in the NFL Christmas games on Netflix. One of the most exciting moments, however, was off the field as Beyonce took the stage.

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[16:26:31]

GOLODRYGA: In case you missed it, the rousing halftime performance by Beyonce on Christmas Day.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS) GOLODRYGA: Well, this was during the NFL's game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, which I have to say as a Houston Texans fan was painful to watch on Netflix.

Beyonce began the show on horseback before kicking off a medley of hits, and it is the first time she has performed songs from her album "Cowboy Carter" in front of a live crowd.

Beyonce was joined by rapper, Post Malone to perform their song "Levii's Jeans." She dazzled in white in her hometown of Houston. Mine, too. It was a thrill to watch her.

And the mini concert also became somewhat of a family affair when she was joined on the field by her daughter, Blue Ivy, who danced right next to her mom during the song "Texas Hold'em." Loved watching that part. The game, not so much.

Well, that's it. Thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

Up next, "Quest's World of Wonder."

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