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Russian Airliner With 224 on Board Crashes in Egypt

© AP Photo / Tatiana BelyakovaIn this photo taken on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, The Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus A321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ on an airstrip of Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport, outside Moscow, Russia
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, The Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus A321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ on an airstrip of Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport, outside Moscow, Russia - Sputnik International
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Earlier on Saturday Egyptian air traffic control said they lost contact with the Russian airliner en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg.

The bodies of about 100 passengers were found among the wreckage of the Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula Saturday, an Egyptian security official at the scene told Reuters.

Bodies of all children have been recovered, he added. Seventeen children, aged 2 to 17, were on board. Officials say that there were no survivors.

Sharm el-Sheikh Airport authorities said that all of the people aboard the aircraft were Russian.

A Metrojet/Kogalymavia A321 en route from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, crashed Saturday near el-Arish in the north of Sinai, officials said.

The plane went down in a mountainous area in central Sinai and poor weather conditions have made it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene, the officer said. Other sources, however, suggest the weather conditions in the vicinity of the crash site were relatively benign.

An Egyptian Health Ministry official said 45 ambulances were sent to central Sinai's Al-Hasana City, adding that an "emergency status" was declared.

A source in Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) told RIA Novosti the Kogalymavia Flight 9268 carrying 217 passengers and 7 crew took off from Sharm El-Sheikh at 3:31 GMT and went off radar after 23 minutes of flight. Most of the passengers are said to be Russian tourists, including 17 children.

The Russian A321 pilot informed air-traffic controller of technical faults after take-off and asked for route change, a source in the Sharm el-Sheikh airport told RIA Novosti.

MENA news agency reported that Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail canceled all his scheduled visits on Saturday following the aircrash. A statement from the prime minister's office said Ismail had formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

There were no indications that the Russian Airbus was shot down, Egyptian security sources said. Egypt's North Sinai is home to a two-year-old Islamist insurgency and militants affiliated to Islamic State have killed hundreds of soldiers and police.

© Photo : flightradar24.comFull flight history for flight 7K9268
Full flight history for flight 7K9268 - Sputnik International
Full flight history for flight 7K9268

Initial reports about the fate of the airliner were conflicting, with the head of Egypt's central air traffic accident authority saying the plane was safe and heading for Turkey.

A team of Russian investigators is already en route to Egypt to determine whether any negligence or failures to observe proper procedures took place before takeoff, according to the Emergencies Ministry.

Five of the ministry aircraft - three Il-76, Be-200 and An-148 - are about to depart to Egypt to deal with the aftermath of the crash, according to a ministry official.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the victims, and has declared November 1 a national day of mourning.

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