“Communication was lost today with the Airbus 321 of Kogalymavia which was carrying out flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to Saint Petersburg”, Lzvolsky later told Russian television networks.
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Most of the passengers are Russian nationals, a source with the ministry said.
The jet carrying 224 passengers disappeared from radar screens in Cypriot airspace, Russia RIA news agency reported, citing a Russian aviation authority source.
Rosaviatsiya said the plane had failed to make scheduled contact with Cypriot air-traffic controllers before disappearing from radar. Russia’s emergencies ministry was gathering a working group on the crash and three of their planes were ready for takeoff, RT said.
In Egypt, military planes have spotted the wreckage of the plane in the Sinai peninsula and 45 ambulances have been directed there to evacuate the dead and injured, the government said.
The Egypt Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed the crash.
Relatives of passengers on the MetroJet Airbus A321 weep at Pulkovo II global airport in St Petersburg as they await news about the crash of the plane in Egypt on Saturday. Egyptian security forces have been fighting an Islamic State insurgency in the region, but there’s no indication militant activity had downed the plane, according to The Guardian.
Most of the people on board were thought to be Russian tourists. Egyptian security officials confirmed there were no survivors from among the 217 passengers and seven crew members on board the aircraft.
The Egyptian authorities, meanwhile, said a cabinet-level crisis committee had been established to look into the causes of the crash.
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According to Reuters, the plane was reported safe and contacted Turkish air traffic control. Initially, conflicting reports claimed that the aircraft came in contact with Turkish air traffic control soon afterwards.
