An Airbus A321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia. Picture from the airline's website
CAIRO, Oct. 31 (Aswat Masriya) - The wreckage of a Russian plane that took off from South Sinai's resort city Sharm El-Sheikh was found near North Sinai's al-Arish city on Saturday morning, the Egyptian Civil Aviation ministry said.
The plane carried 224 passengers and crew and was on its way to St. Petersburg in Russia, the ministry said in a statement.
Air traffic controllers had lost contact with it minutes after it took off, aviation sources told Aswat Masriya, disappearing from the radar 23 minutes after take take-off at 5:51 am.
It was an Airbus A321 and was operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, also known as Kolavia.
The Egyptian government has ordered sending 50 ambulances to the site of the crash to transport the bodies of the deceased and to take those injured to hospital. There have been no official statements yet on the number of casualties.
Russian Ambassador to Cairo Serge Kirpichenko told Aswat Masriya that he is in contact with Egyptian authorities to find out the cause of the crash. He added that he is following up with Egyptian officials on what can be done to provide care for the injured and ship the bodies of the deceased back to Russia.
Cabinet held an urgent meeting to discuss the crash, with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail scheduled to go to the site of the crash. It also formed a working group, headed by Ismail, to follow up on the implications of the incident.
The cause of the plane crash remains unclear but security sources told Reuters that it does not appear to have been shot down or blown up.
A source at the Egyptian ministry of aviation said in press statements that the cause of the crash cannot be determined except after an investigation is complete, adding that the causes being cited in the media are only "speculation".
A team from the air crash investigation department at the ministry of civil aviation went to the site of the crash to inspect it and recover the black boxes, the source said. He added that Russian authorities have the right to participate in the investigation.
Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, following protests against his rule, but most attacks target security forces in North Sinai.
The resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh is a favorite toursit destination especially among Russians.
Egypt is currently trying to revive its tourism sector, which was a main source of income until years of political turmoil, triggered by an uprising in 2011, drove tourists away, taking its toll on the sector.
However, last month, the tourism sector was hit with a setback when Egyptian security forces mistakenly attacked a convoy of Mexican tourists in al-Wahat area in the Western desert, believing they were terrorists. A dozen people were killed in the incident, including eight Mexicans and four Egyptians.
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