A Russian airliner has crashed in central Sinai
killing all 224 people on board, Egyptian
officials have said.

The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of
St Petersburg. Wreckage was found in the Hasana area and
bodies removed, along with the plane's "black box".
An official described a "tragic scene" with bodies
of victims still strapped to seats. Egypt's prime minister said no "irregular" activities
were to blame. Sinai has anactive militant network, and on Saturday afternoon, jihadis allied to the so-called
Islamic State made a claim on social media that
they brought down flight KGL9268. But Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov
told Interfax news agency that "such reports
cannot be considered true". No evidence had been
seen that indicated the plane was targeted, he said. Egypt's civilian aviation ministry said the plane had
been at an altitude of 9,450m (31,000ft) when it
disappeared. Security experts say a plane flying at that altitude
would be beyond the range of a shoulder-launched
surface-to-air missile (Manpad), which Sinai
militants are known to possess. But the German carrier Lufthansa said it would
avoid flying over Sinai "as long as the cause for
today's crash has not been clarified". On Saturday
evening, Air France said it was following suit. British Airways and easyJet said their routes were
regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to
alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared
Sunday a day of mourning.

He has ordered an official investigation into the
crash of the flight, and for rescue teams to be sent
to the crash site.

Egyptian officials said 214 of the passengers were
Russian and three Ukrainian.

Russian authorities say the planewas carrying 217 passengers, 138 of them women and 17 children aged between 2 and 17. Most were tourists. There
were seven crew on board.

A commission headed by Mr Sokolov left for Egypt
on Saturday afternoon.

A criminal case had been opened against the airline,
Kogalymavia, for "violation of rules of flight and
preparation for them", Russia's Ria news agency
reported.

source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34687139

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