Russian airliner crashes in Egypt, Armenian among passengers (Updated)

Russian airliner crashes in Egypt, Armenian among passengers (Updated)

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation said a Russian aircraft carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members crashed Saturday, October 31, in the restive Sinai peninsula, the Associated Press reports.

Lifenews published a list of names of passengers of the crashed airliner. An Armenian - L. Mnatsakanov – was on board. The names, age and other details of the victims were not disclosed.

Egyptian officials say there are no survivors from the crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai.

Earlier, Reuters Russian Service reported that voices of passengers were heard from under the crashed airliner.

“A group of rescuers is now trying to reach the part of the plane with the passengers. We hope to find some people still alive,” Reuters said.

The statement said search and rescue teams found the wreckage of the Russian passenger jet in the Hassana area south of the restive city of el-Arish, where Egyptian security forces are fighting a burgeoning Islamic militant insurgency.

It said the plane the plane took off from Sinai's Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular destination for Russian tourists, and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff.

The aircraft took off at 5:51 a.m. local time bound for St. Petersburg in Russia, the statement said. Earlier in the day, an Egyptian official with the government's Incidents Committee told local media that the plane had briefly lost contact but was now safely in Turkish airspace.

Russia's civil air agency is expected to have a news conference shortly to talk about the Russian Metrojet passenger plane that Egyptian authorities say has crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

Officials were gathering at a hotel adjacent to the St. Petersburg airport, where Egyptian officials say the plane was heading with 217 passengers and 7 crew members.

The plane took off early Saturday from Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular Red Sea tourist destination for Russians. Plane tracking website Flight Radar said Metrojet flight #7K9268 disappeared over Egypt 23 minutes after takeoff.

Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed that a Russian passenger plane has crashed in the Sinai peninsula.

The ministry said earlier Saturday it had lost contact with a Russian aircraft carrying 217 passengers and 7 crew members. A statement carried by Egypt's state-run MENA news agency says the plane took off from Sinai's Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular destination for Russian tourists, at 5:51 a.m. Saturday and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff.

Plane tracking website Flight Radar said Metrojet flight #7K9268 disappeared over Egypt 23 minutes after departure from Sharm el-Sheikh.

A Cyprus Civil Aviation official says Cairo air traffic control notified Cypriot authorities that they had lost contact with a Russian aircraft early Wednesday. The official, who spoke on contrition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the matter, said the aircraft's last contact was with Egyptian Authorities before disappearing. He said the aircraft did not make contact with Cypriot authorities.

Turkish government spokesmen said they had no information about the missing Russian plane ever entering Turkish airspace. Air traffic control officials said they were not authorized to speak to the press. Officials from the Transport Ministry and the Civilian Air Transport Authority did not answer calls.

Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency said Prime Minister Sherif Ismail had canceled a visit to the city of Ismailiya and formed an operations room to follow up on the situation.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Facebook page that Russian Embassy personnel in Egypt are working to clarify the situation.

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