Although a local Islamic State affiliate has claimed responsibility for the crash, a few officials dismissed their claim, saying none of the militias on the Sinai Peninsula have the weapons to down the plane from its altitude. However, they managed to extract information from the flight data recorder which is ready to be analysed by investigators, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Hossam Kamal said.
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The news from Britain prompted questions at Wednesday’s White House briefing, where Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked whether the U.S.is considering similar steps, according to NPR’s Shirley Henry.
“While the investigation is still ongoing we can not say categorically why the Russian jet crashed”.
“We have concluded there was a significant possibility that that crash was caused by an explosive device on board the aircraft”.
Cameron is also to chair a meeting of the British government’s emergency committee Cobra over the issue.
“For a few time, the Department has been warning Australians to “reconsider their need to travel” (level 3 of 4) to Sharm el Sheikh due to the threat of terrorist attack and kidnapping – this level remains in place”.
Sisi, who as army chief toppled President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule, was elected president previous year on promises he would stabilise Egypt and rebuild a limping economy. The one bright spot for Egypt has been tourism at the Red Sea resorts.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called the United Kingdom response premature and unwarranted, telling the BBC that Egypt had taken “exceptional measures” to enhance security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
Thomson said it had temporarily suspended flights to and from the Egyptian resort and British Airways said it was “liaising closely with the Government and awaiting further information”.
She said the mood at the hotel was calm at the moment and they were just waiting to see what happened, adding the mood had been far more sombre just after the crash.
Several worldwide airline companies changed their flight procedures shortly after the crash. The aircraft was reportedly a cargo plane with five Russian crew members and seven passengers, according to local media outlets.
The UK’s move to suspend flights from Sharm el-Sheikh and carry out safety checks at the resort’s airport amid fears that a bomb caused the crash of a Russian airliner has been criticised by Egypt.
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No U.S. airlines regularly operate out of Sinai and the Federal Aviation Administration has had a flight advisory for the area since March, spokesman Josh Earnest said.
