Kerry also offered to provide United States assistance, if needed, it added.
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Egyptian security sources had said earlier there was no sign that the plane had been shot down, Reuters reported, and experts on Islamic State polled by both Russian and global news agencies said militants did not have equipment capable of shooting down a plane flying at a height of 3,000-4,000 meters. Although a militant group affiliated to Islamic State said it had brought down the plane, Russian Federation has said their claim of responsibility could not be considered accurate.
The 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.
The pilot of the St. Petersburg-bound flight radioed the control tower soon after and said the plane was experiencing technical problems.
All 224 people on board died.
Most of the passengers on board are believed to be Russian tourists.
The airplane’s black box, which records the recent history of sounds in the cockpit, has been located, which could reveal the reason for the crash.
Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency said Prime Minister Sherif Ismail had cancelled a visit to Ismailiya and formed an operations room to track the situation.
Although the cause of the crash has not been determined at the time of writing, Pilot Ayman Al-Mokamed who is in charge of the investigation said the plane crashed due to “technical difficulties”.
Russian rescuers were working at the crash site on Sunday, according to Emergency Situations Ministry official Alexei Anikin.
Plane tracking website Flight Radar said the flight disappeared over Egypt 23 minutes after take-off.
The plane reportedly belonged to Russia’s Kogalymavia airline, which is also known as Metrojet, and was scheduled to reach the Russian city of St. Petersburg at noon on Saturday. According to Egypt’s officials, no one survived.
Russia’s transport regulator planned to investigate whether the airline had respected flight safety rules, while Kogalymavia said human error was not to blame. Authorities later received the bodies of victims and prepared for DNA analysis to identify them.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has declared a national day of mourning for November 1, ordering flags to fly at half-mast.
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Following the crash, two carriers – Lufthansa and Air France – announced they were avoiding the airspace over the Sinai Peninsula.
