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Russian plane crashes in Egypt after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh Russian plane crashes in Egypt after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh
(34 minutes later)
A Russian plane carrying more than 200 passengers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is believed to have crashed in central Sinai. A Russian plane carrying more than 200 passengers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has crashed in central Sinai with all onboard feared dead.
A statement from the prime minister’s office said Sherif Ismail had formed a cabinet-level crisis committee to deal with the crash. The new announcement follows conflicting reports from Egyptian officials that the plane had made contact in Turkish airspace and was safe. A security officer from the search-and-rescue team dispatched to the scene said the Russian airline Kogalymavia, known as Metrojet, was “completely destroyed with all on board likely to have died”.
It is understood to be a passenger plane from Russian airline Kogalymavia, also known as Metrojet. It was destined for St Petersburg, with 217 passengers and seven crew onboard. The plane was destined for St Petersburg, with 217 passengers and seven crew onboard. The crash site was found on Saturday morning in southern Arish.
The plane lost contact 23 minutes into the flight, according to plane tracker website Flight Radar. There were no indications the plane was shot down, Egyptian security sources told Reuters. Northern Sinai is home to groups of Islamist militants, many affiliated to the Islamic State.
More details soon … A statement from the prime minister’s office said Sherif Ismail had formed a cabinet-level crisis committee to deal with the crash.
The plane lost contact 23 minutes into the flight, according to the plane tracker website Flight Radar. Data from Flight Radar showed the aircraft had made a steep descent at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute shortly before signal was lost.
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said the flight had left at 03:51 GMT and was due into St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport at 12:10, it told TASS news agency. The plane had failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control and disappeared from the radar.
Rosaviatsiya spokesman Sergey Izvolsky said: “According to preliminary reports, the Airbus A320 belonging to Kagalymavia, en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg has took off at 6:51 am Moscow time.
“At 7:14am it failed to contact Larnaca [in Cyprus] and disappeared from radars. The plane carried 212 passengers and seven crew members.”
The Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is a popular destination for Russian tourists.