Aircraft with Russian citizens crashes in Egypt

In Egypt, a 'Kogalymavia' plane flying from Sharm el Sheikh to St. Petersburg has crashed.

A representative of the security service at the site of the crash said the airliner, which crashed in Sinai, was completely destroyed, all of the passengers are probably dead. According to him, the plane crashed in a mountainous area in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula. Bad weather conditions complicated the access of rescuers to the crash site.

A source in the Russian embassy in Egypt stressed that only Russian citizens were on board. A source in the Federal Air Transport Agency said that the airliner Airbus-321 of the 'Kogalymavia' airline flew from Egypt at 6.51 (MSK) and disappeared from radar screens after 23 minutes. 217 passengers and seven crew members were onboard, RIA Novosti reported.

Currently, the province of North Sinai, where the plane crashed, has announced a state of emergency. According to sources in the administration of the province, all hospitals and first aid services are on high alert. The administration also said that the crash site is located in the central part of Sinai, in the mountains between the districts of El Cantal and El Laksima.

According to rescuers, the airliner crashed south of El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. Military aircraft discovered aircraft wreckage in a mountainous area, 45 ambulances were sent to evacuate the dead and wounded to the site of the emergency," the Ministry of Civil Aviation of Egypt reported.

In connection with the crash, the Russian Emergencies Ministry is urgently gathering a working group of the governmental commission. "Due to the situation with the plane of the 'Kogalymavia' airline, a meeting of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is urgently gathering a working group of the governmental commission for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations," the press service of the Ministry noted.

At the moment, the Ministry has prepared three planes with rescue teams on board to fly to Egypt. "Airmobile group of the unit of 'Spas' center, 'Leader' center of EMERCOM of Russia, two IL-76 aircraft and one Be-200 aircraft have been alerted to respond," the press service added.

In addition, the Emergency Situations Ministry opened a hotline after reports about the disappearance of aircraft from the radar. "On October 31 we were informed that in Pulkovo airport, an aircraft Airbus-321 of flight 7K 9268 en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg disappeared from the radar. EMERCOM hotlines are working," EMERCOM's St. Petersburg department reported.

The staff of the information-analytical agency Vestnik Kavkaza expresses condolences to the relatives and friends of those who died in the crash.