Russian plane ‘broke up in air’ before Sinai crash

A Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board, broke up in the air, a Russian aviation official said on Sunday.

Viktor Sorochenko, an official with the Intergovernmental Aviation Committee, speaking after inspecting the crash site on the Sinai peninsula, added that it was too early to talk about conclusions from the crash, Russian news agencies reported.

A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt has claimed responsibility for bringing down the Kogalymavia Airbus A321 on Saturday “in response to Russian airstrikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land”. However, the Egyptian prime minister has disputed the claim, suggesting militants in northern Sinai, where the country is fighting an Islamic insurgency, did not have the weaponry to hit a flight at 31,000 feet.

Russia, an ally of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, launched airstrikes against opposition groups in Syria, including Isis, on 30 September. The fact that the airliner broke up in the air, does not necessarily indicate a bomb was responsible.

Russia’s emergencies ministry has sent more than 100 workers to Egypt to help recover bodies and examine evidence. Staff from the Fr ench accident investigation agency (BEA) are also on the way. The BEA is involved because the Airbus A321-200 was designed in France.

The agenc y said its team would be joined by two investigators from its German counterpart, the BFU, because the aircraft was manufactured in Germany, and four from its Russian counterpart, the MAK, because the plane was operated by a Russian company.

They will join emergency services and aviation specialists already at the crash site, which is spread over more than 5.8 sq miles.

At least 163 bodies have already been recovered and transported to various hospitals and morgues, including the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo, according to a cabinet statement. With the exception of four Ukrainians and one person from Belarus, all of the victims were Russian.

Russia’s emergencies minister, Vladimir Puchkov, said in a televised statement that 120 bodies had been examined and were being prepared to be flown home. They were expected to begin arriving in St Petersburg late on Sunday or early on Monday.

Guardian