Russian aircraft crashes in Egypt, killing all 224 on board

A Russian passenger aircraft has crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, with the Russian embassy in Cairo saying everyone on board the flight has been killed. 

A “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai,” the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said in a statement.

“Prime Minister [Ismail] is expected to meet the concerned ministries and competent authorities to follow up on the accident of the Russian civilian plane that fell in central Sinai,” the premier’s office added.

The Airbus A-321 was reportedly chartered by Russian airline Kogalymavia and was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members.

"Unfortunately, all passengers of Kogalymavia flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - Saint Petersburg have died. We issue condolences to family and friends," said a message on the Facebook page of the Russian embassy in Cairo.

Earlier, medical and security sources had also said none of 224 passengers and crew on board the plane have survived.

Search and rescue team members are still gathering the remains of victims, the sources said.

An Egyptian security source said that the pilot of the Russian plane had requested to make emergency landing at the closest-possible airport before losing contact with air traffic control.

The Egyptian prime minister has gone to the scene of the crash.

Wreckage found, voices heard inside

The exact casualty figures are yet to be officially reported by Egyptian and Russian authorities.

“Military planes have discovered the wreckage of the plane... in a mountainous area, and 45 ambulances have been directed to the site to evacuate dead and wounded,” an Egyptian cabinet statement said.

Meanwhile, a Russian source with knowledge of the situation told Interfax that the plane “has been fully destroyed,” strengthening speculations that most of the individuals on board have likely been killed.

Despite that assertion, an officer with the Egyptian search and rescue team present at the site has said he heard voices in a section of the Russian plane’s wreckage. He has been quoted as saying that some passengers may still be alive.

Black box found

A latest report by Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency said the bodies of 100 passengers, including five children, together with one of the aircraft’s flight recorders had been found.

The Russian Investigative Committee’s main investigations department has opened a criminal case into the crash under Russian transport laws.

'Technical glitch' 

Security sources in North Sinai said that an initial examination of the site of the incident showed that the Russian passenger plane had crashed due to a technical fault.

The sources said that the plane fell vertically. Large parts of the fuselage burned in the process.

100 bodies recovered

Egypt’s government said 100 bodies have been retrieved from the crash site so far.

The Egyptian cabinet also said the plane had 214 Russian passengers and three Ukrainians on board.

Out of the total 217 passengers, 138 were women, 62 men and 17 were children, the cabinet statement added.

‘Not shot down’

Meanwhile, reacting to media speculation that the plane may have been shot down, Egyptian security sources have said there are no indications to that effect.

A frenzy of initial reports provided conflicting information about the fate of the plane as it lost contact with Egyptian air traffic control.

Russian expert team

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Russian emergency officials to fly immediately to the site of the plane crash to determine the cause of the disaster.

“The head of state has given orders to send emergency ministry (teams) to Egypt immediately to work at the plane crash site,” a Kremlin statement said.

Russia's Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov will coordinate the search and rescue operation in Egypt, according to the ministry.

The statement further read that Putin also ordered the government to set up launch a special commission “due to the catastrophe of Kogalymavia company plane in Egypt.”

National day mourning

The Kremlin press service said on Saturday that Putin has declared November 1 a national day of mourning for the tragedy.

Russian airline Kogalymavia on Saturday dismissed the possibility of a human error being behind the crash.

Russia’s media cited an airline spokeswoman as saying that the pilot had 12,000 hours flying experience and that the plane had been fully serviced.

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