The chartered Airbus 321 jet from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik crashed 23 minutes after takeoff, killing all 224 people on board. The officials reportedly suspect an explosion caused the crash, but have yet to determine whether terrorists targeted the plane, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.
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“The information we have heard about has not been shared with Egyptian security agencies in detail”.
Almost 80,000 Russian tourists are estimated have been stranded in Egypt by their government’s decision to halt flights.
The British government and US officials have also said intelligence suggests the plane was downed by a bomb. But neither country has reached a final conclusion about the cause of the incident.
“There will be no evacuation”, she said, adding that most were staying in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
Exasperated British tourists who have waited for hours at the Sharm El-Sheikh airport heckled UK Ambassador John Casson after reports of more flight delays and cancellations.
He said the countries that are now facing the danger had not dealt seriously with Cairo’s past calls for help and coordination on terrorism issues.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin became the latest leader to suspend flights to and from the region, until security is improved at its airports.
Debris from crashed Russian plane lies on the sand at the site of the crash, Sinai, Egypt, 31 October 2015. While the interception between the Wilayat Sinai and the US forces did not mention a possible takedown of an airliner, one defense official said a few comments made by the ISIS wing could actually be linked to the incident.
Mr Casson said he understood the frustrations of stranded holidaymakers and reassured them that British government officials were at the airport and in hotels in the resort to offer people advice around the clock. “We have, obviously, much better airport security here at home, but even our airport security is far from infallible”.
According to AFP, the source said the flight data and voice recorders showed the flight was going smoothly until the 24-minute mark, when both failed, which suggests “a very sudden explosive decompression”.
The militants from Velayat Sinai (Sinai Province), previously known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, had earlier circulated a statement on social media claiming responsibility for the plane crash, saying the group brought down the aircraft in revenge for Russian airstrikes against positions of Daesh in Syria.
Two Thomas Cook flights are due to arrive at Manchester and Gatwick, while British Airways sent an empty plane to Sharm el-Sheikh this morning to return holidaymakers to Gatwick this evening.
EasyJet said it plans to bring another 445 passengers back, with two planes due to fly into Luton tonight.
Oleg Safonov, head of Russian state tourism agency Rostourism, said 1,200 Russian tourists had returned home and future flights would be leaving without hold luggage.
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi dismissed Islamic State’s claim as propaganda aimed at damaging Egyptian and security and its tourist industry which is vital to the economy.
