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Russian Plane Crashes in Sinai Peninsula Russian Plane Crashes in Sinai Peninsula
(35 minutes later)
CAIRO — A Russian airplane with more than 200 passengers crashed early Saturday in the central Sinai Peninsula, according to a statement from the office of Egypt’s prime minister. CAIRO — A Russian passenger airplane carrying 224 people crashed early Saturday in the central Sinai Peninsula, according to officials in Cairo and Moscow.
Egypt’s aviation ministry told the Reuters news agency that the plane, an Airbus A321, crashed in a mountainous area of the Sinai after daybreak. An Egyptian cabinet statement on Saturday morning said that military aircraft had spotted the wreckage of the plane in a mountainous area in Sinai and that 45 ambulances had been dispatched to the site to transport bodies and any survivors to hospitals in Cairo and the city of Suez.
In Moscow, the Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed that the flight had disappeared from radar screens while flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, according to the Interfax news agency. The statement said that the plane had been carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. It had left the airport in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh at 5:58 a.m. and disappeared from radar screens at 6:20 a.m., the statement said.
The plane, operated by Kogalymavia, disappeared from radar about 25 minutes after it took off at 6:51 a.m., Interfax said, quoting Sergei Isvolsky, a spokesman for the air transport agency. The plane was operated by Kogalymavia, a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Sergei Isvolsky, told the Interfax news agency in Moscow. The flight, Kogalymavia 9268, had been scheduled to land at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, he said.
He said there were 224 people on board, including 217 passengers. The flight, Kogalymavia 9268, had been scheduled to land at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg.
The plane requested an emergency landing before disappearing, the Interfax report said. Aircraft crew members had previously complained about the state of one engine, the RIA Novosti agency reported.The plane requested an emergency landing before disappearing, the Interfax report said. Aircraft crew members had previously complained about the state of one engine, the RIA Novosti agency reported.
Quoting an eyewitness at the scene, the Sputnik news agency said that the plane was completely destroyed and that all the passengers had been killed. Those on board the flight were Russian tourists, including 17 children, it said.Quoting an eyewitness at the scene, the Sputnik news agency said that the plane was completely destroyed and that all the passengers had been killed. Those on board the flight were Russian tourists, including 17 children, it said.
Russian news reports quoted a website called FlightRadar 24, which tracks air traffic around the globe, as saying the plane was descending at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute just before it disappeared from radar.Russian news reports quoted a website called FlightRadar 24, which tracks air traffic around the globe, as saying the plane was descending at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute just before it disappeared from radar.
Apart from the coastal resorts in the south, much of the Sinai Peninsula is a closed military zone and the location of a long-running insurgency by jihadist groups against the government of Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. Apart from coastal resorts in the south, much of the Sinai Peninsula is a closed military zone and the location of a long-running insurgency by jihadist groups against the government of Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.
Russian news reports said that preliminary details gave no indication that the plane might have been shot down.Russian news reports said that preliminary details gave no indication that the plane might have been shot down.