More than 200 feared dead as Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt

A passenger plane carrying 224 people has crashed over Egypt, the prime minister’s office has confirmed. The plane was travelling from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russia city of St Petersburg and lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after take-off. The aircraft was a Airbus A321 operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia. A statement from the prime minister’s office said a cabinet level crisis committee would meet to deal with the crash in the Sinai peninsula. Earlier, there was a confusion over the fate of the aircraft, with officials saying it was safe and was flying through Turkish airspace.

russia plane Middle East