A plane with over 200 people on board has crashed.
The Russian airliner had just taken off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg when it crashed in central Sinai.
The plane is operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia. Latest reports say it is carrying 217 passengers and seven crew, while a number of reports suggest it had disappeared over Cyprus.
It’s believed the plane was mainly carrying Russian tourists.
Reports in Russia suggest the plane was carrying seven crew, 200 adults and 17 children
A statement carried by the MENA agency says the flight took off from Sinai’s Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular destination for Russian tourists, at 5:51 a.m. local time and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff.
It says the plane was bound for St. Petersburg in Russia and a search and rescue team is looking for the plane.
Earlier in the day, an Egyptian official with the government’s Incidents Committee told local media that the plane had briefly lost contact and was now safely in Turkish airspace.
Egyptian security sources say there is no indication the plane was shot down.
More to follow.
Plane with over 200 tourists crashes after disappearing from radar screens
