Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt's Sinai Mountain - Russian Airliner With 224 Aboard Crashes In Egypt's Sinai Mountain - Hiru Gossip English Edition, Lanka Gossip English News | Hirugossip English Edition | Hiru Gossip | Hiru Fm Gossip | Hiru Gossip Official Web Site | Lanka English Gossip

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Oct

Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt's Sinai Mountain

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A Russian airliner has crashed in central Sinai with more than 200 people on board, the office of Egypt's prime minister has confirmed. The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Wreckage of the plane has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 9,500m (31,000ft)..

Egyptian officials said all the passengers were Russian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an official investigation into the crash.

The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.

Russian authorities say it was carrying 217 passengers, 17 of them children, and seven crew. Most were tourists.

A centre to help relatives of the passengers has been set up at Pulkovo airport

Sudden altitude loss

Initially there were conflicting reports about the fate of the plane, some suggesting it had disappeared over Cyprus.

But the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a "Russian civilian plane... crashed in the central Sinai".

It added that Mr Ismail had formed a crisis committee to deal with the crash.

Media reports say at least 50 ambulances have been sent to the scene.

The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said in a statement that flight 7K 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 06:51 Moscow time (03:51 GMT) and had been due into St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport at 12:10.

The authority added that the aircraft failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control 23 minutes after take-off and disappeared from the radar.

Egypt's civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 9,500m (31,000ft) when it disappeared.