Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said if Britain did have information about a bomb on the plane, it’s “really shocking” that hasn’t been shared with Russia.
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“I think there’s a possibility that there was a bomb on board”, Obama said in an interview with Dave Ross of CBS News affiliate KIRO in Seattle.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time just making sure our own investigators and own intelligence community find out what’s going on before we make any definitive pronouncements”, he said. Other officials cautioned that intercepted communications can sometimes be misleading and that it’s possible the evidence will add up to a conclusion that there was no bomb. Flights to Egypt are expected to be halted until the cause of the Metrojet plane crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on October 31 is determined.
How? One US official told CNN that “specificity” in chatter surrounding the crash of the Russian jet drew the attention of the USA intelligence community.
British officials said bringing back all the 20,000 Britons in the popular tourist destination may take up to 10 days.
“Until we know the real reasons for what happened, I consider it expedient to stop Russian flights to Egypt”, said Bortnikov. This stems from Egypt’s belief that enhancing security procedures is generally beneficial and useful, and is a routine measure, with no bearing whatsoever on the causes of the crash, and no prejudgment of the results of the ongoing investigation, which is being conducted with the utmost transparency and professionalism and with the participation of global experts.
Egypt is leading the crash investigation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday suspended all flights to Egypt from the country, following a recommendation by his chief of intelligence.
All the US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly.
France, Belgium and the Netherlands warned their nationals not to travel, and German airlines cancelled flights.
Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Eldamaty rejected the USA and British bomb allegations outright. Rescue teams have retrieved 140 bodies and more than 100 body parts while combing a 40-sq.-km (15.4-sq.-mile) area.
He said that a review of safety for commercial flights bound for the U.S. is taking place and an announcement will soon be made by the Department of Homeland Security.
The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) advised holidaymakers to contact their airlines about travel arrangements.
Nearly all of the victims on the doomed plane were Russian, and the first funeral for one of them took place Thursday.
“We have asked them to organise eight flights only, and one plane will transport luggage”, Kamal said.
Ireland’s aviation authority said that it would advise its country’s carriers to avoid Sharm el-Sheikh.
Sinai has been a battleground between ISIS-affiliated militants and Egyptian security forces in recent years. Hundreds have died in the fighting.
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Russian Federation and Egypt have dismissed Western suggestions that a bomb may have caused the crash last Saturday, saying the speculation was a rush to judgment and insisting the investigation must run its course.
