A Russian aircraft carrying more than 220 people crashed on Saturday in a remote mountainous region in the Sinai Peninsula more than 20 minutes after takeoff from a Red Sea resort popular with Russian tourists. Egyptian military and security officials say there are no survivors from the Russian passenger plane.
Here are the latest updates
1950 IST
A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian passenger plane that crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday, the group said in a statement circulated by supporters on Twitter.
Egyptian security sources earlier on Saturday said early investigations suggested the plane crashed due to a technical fault.
The claim of responsibility was also carried by the Aamaq website which acts as a semi official news agency for Islamic State.
"The fighters of the Islamic State were able to down a Russian plane over Sinai province that was carrying over 220 Russian crusaders. They were all killed, thanks be to God," the statement circulated on Twitter said.
1946 IST
17 children among those killed in crash.
1900 IST
At a hotel near St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, the friends and relatives of those on the Metrojet flight that crashed in Egypt are gathering to grieve.
Yulia Zaitseva said her friends, a newlywed couple named Elena Rodina and Alexqander Krotov, were on the flight. Both were 33. Egyptian officials said all 224 people on the flight were Russian and there were no survivors.
Zaitseva says Saturday that her friend “really wanted to go to Egypt, though I told her ‘why the hell do you want to go to Egypt?’”
She says “we were friends for 20 years. She was a very good friend who was ready to give everything to other people. To lose such a friend is like having your hand cut off.”
She said Rodina’s parents feel “like their lives are over.”
1845 IST
U.S. officials have offered their condolences to Russia and to all the families involved in the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reports that “We don’t know any details about it, but obviously the initial reports represent tremendous tragedy, loss, and we extend our condolences to the families and all those concerned.”
Mr. Kerry spoke on Saturday while on a visit to the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan.
Egyptian officials say all 224 people 217 passengers and seven crew on the Metrojet flight were Russian and there were no survivors in Saturday’s crash in the Sinai Peninsula.
Officials say all the victims in Saturday’s Metrojet plane crash were Russian citizens
1805 IST
The aircraft was carrying 214 Russian passengers and three Ukrainians, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement.
Out of the total 217 passengers, 138 were women, 62 men and 17 were children, the cabinet statement
1800 IST
Several Egyptian military and security officials say there are no survivors from the Russian passenger plane carrying 224 people that crashed into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The officials all spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Aviation experts have reached the crash site near the city of el-Arish.
Officials say all the victims in Saturday’s Metrojet plane crash were Russian citizens.
1650 IST
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top investigative body, has opened an investigation into the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula for possible violations of flight safety procedures.
Committee spokesman Sergei Markin made the announcement in a statement on Saturday.
An Egyptian aviation official says the pilot of Metrojet Flight 7K9268 had reported technical difficulties early Saturday and planned an emergency landing at the nearest airport before losing contact with Egyptian air traffic controllers and crashing.
1615 IST
An Egyptian aviation official says the pilot of the Russian airliner that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula had reported technical difficulties before losing contact with air traffic controllers.
Ayman al-Muqadem, a member of the Aviation Incidents Committee, said the pilot had reported his intention to attempt to land at the nearest airport.
1605 IST
Egyptian authorities say the wreckage of a Russian passenger jet has been found in area where Egyptian forces are fighting an Islamic militant insurgency.
Egyptian security forces have been waging major operations against a burgeoning insurgency in the northern Sinai peninsula, including the city of el-Arish. Egyptian officials say the wreckage was found in the Hassana area south of el-Arish.
The long-restive northern Sinai has seen a spike in attacks targeting security forces since the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in 2013. An Islamic State affiliate has claimed responsibility for many of the deadly attacks. The Egyptian government has restricted journalists’ access to the area.
1535 IST
Russia’s civil air agency is expected to have a news conference shortly to talk about the Russian Metrojet passenger plane that Egyptian authorities say has crashed in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
Officials were gathering at a hotel adjacent to the St. Petersburg airport, where Egyptian officials say the plane was heading with 217 passengers and 7 crew members.
The plane took off early Saturday from Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular Red Sea tourist destination for Russians. Plane tracking website Flight Radar said Metrojet flight 7K9268 disappeared over Egypt 23 minutes after takeoff.
1455 IST
Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed that a Russian passenger plane has crashed in the Sinai peninsula.
The ministry said earlier Saturday it had lost contact with a Russian aircraft carrying 217 passengers and 7 crew members.
A statement carried by Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency says the plane took off from Sinai’s Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular destination for Russian tourists, at 5.51 a.m. (local time) on Saturday and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff.
It said the aircraft was bound for St. Petersburg in Russia. A search and rescue team is looking for the plane.
The Airbus A 321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia with registration number KGL-9268, was flying from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in a desolate mountainous area of central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.
The security officer at the scene told Reuters by telephone that search and rescue teams heard voices in a section of the plane.
"I now see a tragic scene. A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats," the officer, who requested anonymity, said.
"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."
Sinai is the scene of an insurgency by militants who support Islamic State. The rebels have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police and have also attacked Western targets in recent months.
Russia launched air raids against Syrian opposition groups including Islamic State on Sept. 30. But Egyptian security sources said there was no indication that the Airbus jet had been shot down or blown up.
Premier heads to scene
The A321 is a 185-seat medium-haul jet in service since 1994, with over 1,100 in operation worldwide. It is a highly automated aircraft relying on computers to help pilots stay within safe flying limits.
Saturday's crash is the second fatal accident involving this variant of the A320 jetliner family, according to data from the Flight Safety Foundation. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail was heading to the crash site with several cabinet ministers on a private jet, the tourism ministry said.
The aircraft took off at 5:51 a.m. Cairo time (0351 GMT) and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes later, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. It was at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 metres) when it vanished from radar screens.
After delays caused by poor weather conditions, Egyptian search and rescue teams located the site of the crash in the Hassana area 35 km (22 miles) south of the Sinai Mediterranean coastal city of Al Arish, the aviation ministry statement said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment