First pictures of Russian jet crash that killed 224: Victims ‘found over three-mile radius’ in Egypt – as Moscow and Cairo deny ISIS claims they brought down the plane
- The aircraft was reported missing on Saturday 31st October 23 minutes after leaving the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with 224 on board
- The doomed jet was owned by an Irish company and leased to a Russian airline carrying tourists to St Petersburg
- Egyptian air crash investigators said the pilot had warned of a ‘technical problem’ shortly before the disaster
- The jet was plunging at more than 6,000 feet per minute as the pilot tried to land at el-Arish airport in northern Egypt
- Tonight, Egyptian officials said they had recovered black box, which has been sent away to be anaylsed by experts
- They also released first images of mangled wreckage of plane, showing bits of aircraft strewn across Sinai desert
- Victims include a 10-month-old baby girl, as well as two siblings aged two and three, and numerous other children
Airbus disappears off radar at 30,000 feet over Egypt – too high for surface to air missile
These are the first images of the mangled wreckage of the Russian passenger jet that crashed this morning, killing all 224 people on board.
The harrowing photos were released by the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail, who visited the crash site in the Sinai Peninsula.
They show the destroyed interior of the Irish-owned aircraft, which split apart upon impact, killing 200 adults, 17 children and seven crew members.
It comes as officials have recovered the Airbus A321’s black box, which is now being examined by experts to determine the cause of the disaster.
The Islamic State group affiliate in Egypt has claimed it downed the aircraft, but has not said how it might have done so.
Cairo and Moscow, however, have denied any possible terrorism link in the incident, one of the deadliest Airbus crashes in the past decade.
This evening, the prime minister’s office said: ‘The black box was recovered from the tail of the plane and has been sent to be analysed by experts.’
It added that more than 45 ambulances have been dispatched to the crash site, with rescuers having recovered 129 victims’ bodies so far.
The jet, which was leased by a Russian airline and carrying package holiday passengers back to St Peterburg in northern Russia, plummeted to the ground less than 25 minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik. It crashed in the Hassana area, south of Arish, officials said.
Isis claims it shot down the plane have been rejected by Moscow and Cairo after the pilot reported “technical difficulties” before the crash.
Egyptian investigators examine the black box retrieved from the crashed aircraft