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Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashed in Egypt's Sinai, all killed

129 bodies had so far been removed and the chances of finding survivors were now near-impossible. Bodies were being transported to various hospitals with 34 arriving in the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo.

A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Saturday shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard.

A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement it had brought down the plane “in response to Russian airstrikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land”, but Russia’s Transport Minister told Interfax news agency the claim “can’t be considered accurate”.

According to Reuters, the Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.

Both black boxes of the plane had been found, Mohamed Hossam Kemal, the civil aviation minister, told a news conference. Kemal said communications between the plane and air traffic control before the crash had been normal and that nothing irregular had occurred before the accident.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail also told the news conference that there did not appear to be any unusual activity behind the crash but the facts would not be clear until further investigations had been carried out.

Ismail said 129 bodies had so far been removed and the chances of finding survivors were now near-impossible. Bodies were being transported to various hospitals with 34 arriving in the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo.

Islamic State, in a statement on Twitter, said it had brought down the aircraft. Sinai is the scene of an insurgency by militants close to Islamic State, who have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police and have also attacked Western targets in recent months. Much of the Sinai is a restricted military zone.

UNWTO expresses its condolences over the tragic loss of Kogalymavia flight
UNWTO is deeply saddened by the news of the crash of the Kogalymavia flight in Central Sinai, Egypt. On behalf of the international tourism community, UNWTO conveys its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims as well as to the Russian people.

“It was with great sorrow that we learned about this tragic accident and we express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims at this difficult moment”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

The German carrier Lufthansa said it would avoid flying over Sinai “as long as the cause for today’s crash has not been clarified”. On Saturday evening, Air France said it was following suit. British Airways and easyJet said their routes were regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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