Russian passenger plane with 224 people on board crashes in Egypt

A Russian airliner carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members has crashed in central Sinai, the office of Egypt’s prime minister has confirmed to the BBC. The Airbus A-321 took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Egyptian media reports said the wreckage of the plane had already been found and rescuers in more than 20 ambulances have been sent to the scene..

Most of the passengers are believed to be Russian tourists.

Initially, the plane was thought to have disappeared over Cyprus. But the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai”. The Egyptian government has since formed a crisis committee to deal with the crash.

The cause of the crash could be mechanical, analysts say.