Russian plane with 224 on board crashes in Egypt, ISIS claims responsibility

Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail looks at the remains of a plane crash at the desert in central Sinai near El Arish city, north Egypt. Photograph: Stringer

All the 224 people, including seven crew members, on board a Russian Airbus aircraft were killed on Saturday when it crashed in a mountainous region in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula for which the Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility.

Egyptian security officials said there were no survivors among the 217 passengers -- 214 Russians and three Ukrainians -- and seven crew members. The passengers were mostly tourists.

Police open the way for ambulances carrying the bodies of passengers of a Russian airliner which crashed in Sinai, into a morgue in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Most of the 100 bodies recovered so far from the site of the crash were burned, Egyptian officials said adding that the wreckage was found roughly 100 kilometres south of the North Sinai town of El-Arish.

An Egyptian soldier asks the media to back off as rescue crews transfer the bodies of victims after a plane crashed in Sinai, from a civil police helicopter to an ambulance at Kabrit airport in Suez, east of Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Stringer

The wreckage was found in Hasana area, along with the plane's black boxes. An official described the crash site as a "tragic scene" with bodies of victims still strapped to seats.

The Airbus A321-23 lost contact with Egyptian air traffic control 23 minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for St Petersburg early on Saturday. An affiliate of the Islamic State group in Egypt, which is waging a deadly insurgency in the Sinai, claimed it downed the plane, but did not say how.

A man prays as Egyptian soldiers and rescue crews wait to transfer the bodies of victims of a plane which crashed in Sinai, from a civil police helicopter to an ambulance at Kabrit airport in Suez, east of Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Stringer

"The soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane," it claimed, saying this was a revenge against Russia's airstrikes on the group in Syria. However, the Russian Transport Minister told Interfax news agency that the IS claim "can't be considered accurate".

Relatives of victims of a Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt, mourn at a hotel near Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, Russia. Photograph: Peter Kovalev/Reuters

There has been no official word on the cause of the crash but preliminary assessments by security and aviation officials indicated that the plane crashed due to "technical reasons".

Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi condoled the deaths in the crash. He was closely following the developments and has ordered a probe into the crash, said an official release.

A woman reacts next to Russian Emergencies Ministry members at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg, Russia. All photographs: Peter Kovalev/Reuters

Pilot Ayman Al-Mokadem, who is heading a committee to monitor the situation in the aftermath of the crash, said the crash resulted due to a "technical failure," refuting earlier speculation that it was shot down in the restive peninsula.

A couple embraces next to a flight information board at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, Russia. Photograph: Reuters

He said the pilot sensed the failure and reported to the aviation authorities that he wanted to land at the nearest airport, adding that it seemed to have crashed while attempting to land in Al-Arish's airport in North Sinai.

Flight KGL9268 belonged to the Kogalymavia airline, a small airline based in Western Siberia. A criminal case has been opened against the airline for "violation of rules of flight and preparation for them," Russia's Ria news agency reported.