A Russian passenger plane carrying 224 people crashed on Saturday in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian officials stated.
A “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai,” the office of Prime Minister Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement.
A senior aviation official said the plane was a charter flight operated by a Russian company carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. Communication with the aircraft was lost, he also stated.
Sergei Lzvolsky, an official with the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia told Interfax news agency that the plane had departed Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh at 5:51 am local time (03:51 GMT).
As stated by him, the aircraft did not make contact as expected with air traffic controllers in Cyprus, and “since then the plane has not made contact and has not appeared on radars”.
The Airbus A-321 had just taken off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and was on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg when it crashed.
There were conflicting reports about the fate of the plane, some suggesting it had disappeared over Cyprus.
Most of the passengers are said to be Russian tourists.
The plane is operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia. Latest reports say it was carrying 217 passengers and 7 crew.
“Prime Minister (Ismail) is expected to meet the concerned ministries and competent authorities to follow up on the accident of the Russian civilian plane that fell in central Sinai,” Egyptian premier’s office stated.