45 ambulances sent to 'remote area'

The Egyptian authorities have sent 45 ambulances to the scene this morning.
The crash site in a remote area, it has been reported, and therefore getting to any bodies or survivors could be difficult.
The image below shows the South Arish region where the crash has occurred, north of Sharm.

Same airline had crash four years ago that killed three people

The same airline had a crash four years ago, it has been reported.
On January 1, 2011 a fire broke out on one of the engines of a Tupolev Tu-154B-2 before taxiing.
The aircraft had 116 passengers and 8 crew on board, and was due to operate Flight 348, a Surgut–Moscow service.
It was evacuated seconds before the flames engulfed the fuselage. Three people were killed and 43 passengers resulted injured.

'Technical fault reported'

The captain of flight 7K9268 told ATC after departure of a technical fault and requested a route change, it has been reported.
It is not clear whether the plane actually did change route but it was only in the air for around 25 minutes.
The plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when it vanished from radar screens, the Egyptian civilian aviation ministry said in a statement.


'Most on board likely to have died'

The passenger plane that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai on Saturday was completely destroyed and most of those on board are likely to have died, an Egyptian security officer who had recently arrived at the scene told Reuters.
The plane went down in a mountainous area in central Sinai and poor weather conditions have made it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene, the officer said.
Survivors and bodies of those on board will be flown to Cairo, the security source said.


BREAKING NEWS

'Egyptian authorities have found plane'

Egyptian rescue teams have now found the plane.
The crashed flight has been located in the Southern Arish area of the Sinai Peninsula.
There are no details yet of any survivors.

'17 children were onboard'

Seventeen children were among the passengers on a Russian jet that went missing as it flew from Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted a source in the Russian aviation authority as saying.
Also on board were 200 adult passengers and 7 crew members, RIA quoted the source as saying.
The plane took off from Egypt at 6.51am.


'No indication it was shot down'

There were no indications the Russian passenger plane was shot down, Egyptian security sources said.
Egypt’s North Sinai is home to a two-year-old Islamist insurgency and militants affiliated to Islamic State have killed hundreds of soldiers and police.
There are no details yet on what has caused the crash, however.

Destination was St Petersburg

The plane’s destination was St Petersburg, Russian’s second largest city.
Most of the passengers onboard are Russian tourists, it has been reported, who had been visiting the popular Egyptian hotspot.
St Petersburg, in the far west of the country, has a population of around 5 million people.

Plane disappeared after less than half an hour

The plane disappeared from radar 23 minutes after it left Sharm el-Sheik this morning.
According to Flightradar flight 7K9268 was descending with about 6,000 feet per minute just before the signal was lost.
The plane had been heading north to Russia.



KEY EVENT

Reports of 'steep descent'

There are suggestions that the plane may have gone into a steep descent before it disappeared from radar screens.
Some reports say it may have descended up to 5,000ft.

Crash location

The flight number of the plane was 7K9268. The airline, Kogalymavia, is also known as Metrojet.
It’s being reported that the plane was 18 years old.
This is believed to be the location of the crash:


KEY EVENT

Egyptian PM confirms crash











The flight was carrying 224 passengers and crew, is an Airbus A-321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia.
Russian aviation sources said it disappeared from radar screen in Cypriot airspace but the Egyptian Prime Minister’s Office says it crashed in Central Sinai.
Sherif Ismail has formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt

A Russian passenger plane carrying 224 people has crashed in Egypt.
The Airbus A-321 jet, which is operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik to Russia when it lost control with air traffic control.
It’s believed the plane was mainly carrying Russian tourists.
There was initially confusion over the fate of the aircraft, with conflicting reports that it had been found safe.
But the Egyptian Aviation Authority says the plane is still missing, and the Russian Prime Minister’s Office has now confirmed that it crashed in Cental Sinai.
We’ll bring you more details of this breaking story as we get them