SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The latest developments after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board (all times local).
12:35 p.m.
Three Russian Cabinet ministers are inspecting the crash site of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Photos from the site, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of the city of el-Arish, have shown heaps of smoldering debris dotting the barren terrain, including the plane’s badly damaged sky blue tail. The Airbus A321-200 charter jet crashed Saturday, killing all 224 aboard, mostly Russians.
Spokeswoman Zhanna Terekhova says Sunday that Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov and Alexander Neradko, the head of the state civil aviation agency, will also be shown the plane’s data and cockpit voice recorders.
An Egyptian official who inspected the plane says it was in good technical condition before it crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
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12:15 p.m.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered his condolences to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people over a plane crash in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board.
Netanyahu says “this was a great disaster. We identify with the sorrow and are of course in constant touch with the government of Russia and the government of Egypt to try and figure out the circumstances of the case.”
The plane, bound for St. Petersburg in Russia, crashed 23 minutes after it took off from Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Most victims were Russian.
A local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group said it “brought down” the aircraft, but Russia’s transport minister dismissed the claim.
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11:55 a.m.
French air accident investigators have left for Egypt to join the investigation into the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai Peninsula.
France’s BEA accident investigation agency is involved because the Airbus A321-200 jet was designed in France. A BEA official said the team, including two BEA investigators and six technical advisers from Airbus, was arriving Sunday.
The BEA said the team would be joined by two investigators from its German counterpart BFU, because the plane was manufactured in Germany, and four investigators from its Russian counterpart MAK, because the plane was operated by a Russian company.
The crash early Saturday killed all 224 people onboard a Metrojet charter flight from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia. Most victims were Russians.
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11:40 a.m.
An Egyptian ground service official who examined the Russian passenger plane that crashed Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula before takeoff says it appeared to be in good condition.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A Russian TV channel on Saturday quoted the wife of the co-pilot as saying her husband had complained about the plane’s condition.
Another Egyptian official had previously said that before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers the pilot had radioed and said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and that he intended to try and land at the nearest airport.
A local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group claimed it “brought down” the aircraft, but Russia’s transport minister dismissed the claim.
The plane, bound for St. Petersburg in Russia, crashed 23 minutes after it took off from Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board died.
— Nour Youssef in Cairo
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9:25 a.m.
Dubai-based Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest carrier, says it has stopped flying over Egypt’s Sinai until more is known about the crash of a Russian airliner in the rugged peninsula.
The airline made the announcement Sunday, the day after the crash of the Russian plane, which had taken off 23 minutes earlier from the popular Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board died.
The cause of the crash was not yet known. A local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group claimed it “brought down” the aircraft, but Russia’s transport minister dismissed the claim.
Two major European airlines, Germany’s Lufthansa and Air France, said Saturday that they would immediately stop flying over Sinai for safety reasons until the cause of the crash was determined.
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