A Russian passenger plane has crashed in an isolated, mountainous region of Egypt‘s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 on board, including 17 children and 7 crew members. Most on board were believed to be tourists.
The Airbus A321, flown under the name Metrojet, was bound for St Petersburg, returning from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, when it lost radar contact and plummeted to the ground.
It is believed the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing when the crash occurred, and Russian officials are reportedly planning to examine samples from the plane’s last refuelling stop.
A Russian team is on its way to Egypt to assist in recovery efforts, although Egyptian officials say that the chances of finding survivors are “near-impossible.” 129 bodies have been recovered from the site so far.
A militant group connected to Islamic State took to social media soon after the crash, claiming responsibility, but officials from both Russia and Egypt have rejected this claim.
In a statement about the crash, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismael said that there are no “irregular” activities suspected. Russia’s Transport Minister says that the Islamic State’s claims “can’t be considered accurate.”
An Egyptian security official spoke to the Reuters news agency from on the ground, saying:
“I now see a tragic scene. A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats. The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside. We are hearing a lot of telephones ringing, most likely belonging to the victims, and security forces are collecting them and putting them into a bag.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has declared a national day of mourning on Sunday.
The airline Kogalymavia, who operate Metrojet, have previously been pulled up for violations in routine safety checks; Russian media report that, in the wake of the crash, the airline’s offices were searched, and certain documents seized.
The majority of the passengers on board were Russian, with some Ukrainian. The Australian embassy in Cairo is attempting to determine whether any Australians were present on the doomed flight, but there is no current indication of this.
via Fairfax
Photo: Andalou Agency via Getty Images
Photo: Andalou Agency via Getty Images
