CAIRO (AP) — The latest on the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt that killed all 224 people onboard last Saturday. (All times local.)
12:05 p.m.
Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Eldamaty dismissed allegations by the United States and Britain that the Airbus A321 may have been brought down by a bomb.
The minister says the crash on Saturday in Sinai was “not a terror act. It was an accident.” He stressed that it’s “very sad what happened, but we have to wait for the result of the investigation.”
Eldamaty spoke at the ancient city of Luxor as authorities opened three tombs to the public for the first time in an effort to encourage tourism.
Egypt’s presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef also has said that authorities here wish U.S. and Britain had “waited for the result of the ongoing investigation.”
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12:40 p.m.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Britain’s suggestion that a bomb is likely to have caused last weekend’s Russian plane crash over Egypt.
All 224 people onboard the Airbus A321 en route home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh died in Saturday’s plane crash.
Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that Moscow “cannot rule out a single theory” about the crash but insisted that singling one out is merely speculation.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Wednesday said there was a “significant possibility” the crash was caused by a bomb, and Britain suspended all flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh indefinitely.
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11:30 a.m.
The Russian Federal Transport Agency says airliner Metrojet has suspended all flights of Airbus A321 jets in its fleet after last weekend’s crash of its plane in Sinai.
The agency said in a statement Thursday that Metrojet has filed documents showing the suspension, pending checks by the authorities. Metrojet has four A321 aircraft.
The company has ruled out a pilot error or a technical fault as a possible cause of the crash while Russian authorities have refrained from remarks, citing ongoing investigations.
However, British and U.S. officials said Wednesday they have information suggesting the plane may have been brought down by a bomb.
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9:35 a.m.
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov says Russian rescue teams are wrapping up their search for any more remains of victims of last Saturday’s plane crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Puchkov said after a televised conference call with Russian experts in Egypt on Thursday that the 40 square kilometer (15 square mile) -area should be combed by 10 p.m. Moscow time.
Russia’s Airbus 321-200 was en route from Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg when it crashed 23 minutes after the take-off. Most of the victims were Russian vacationers flying home.
So far, 140 bodies have been retrieved from the crash site.
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