A PASSENGER plane carrying 224 people has crashed in Egypt’s Sinai desert – with no survivors.
The Russian Airbus A-321 jet – operated by Kogalymavia – was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia when it lost contact with air traffic control.
There were reports that ISIS had claimed responsibility for destroying the plane in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s decision to bomb Jihadi targets in Syria, but officials in Moscow and Egypt denied any possible terrorism link to the crash.
The jet is thought to have had 200 adults, 17 children and seven crew on board, who were mostly Russian tourists.
The aircraft was found by Egyptian authorities in the southern Arish area “completely destroyed”.
There are no survivors, according to officials.
The flight, operating under the MetroJet brand, is thought to have come down 23 minutes after leaving the holiday hotspot – descending at 6,000ft a minute.
The captain told air traffic controllers of a technical fault after departure and requested a route change.
Authorities at the crash site report that bodies are still strapped into their seats – with a huge search and rescue operation launched.
At least 40 ambulances have rushed to the scene.
One officer – who has not been named – said earlier: “There is another section of the plane with passengers inside that the rescue team is still trying to enter.
“We hope to find survivors especially after hearing pained voices of people inside.”
Russia has launched an investigation into the crash.
A security officer said: “I now see a tragic scene. A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats.
“The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock.
“We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside.”
The black box containing flight data which can help establish the cause of the crash has now been found.
It is not known whether it is still intact.
Russian president Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
All of the people on board the flight are Russians, according to Kremlin officials.
There was initial confusion over the flight’s fate, with reports it had been found safe and well.
But the Egyptian authorities earlier announced Flight UTC FR24 was missing, and the PM’s office confirmed it had crashed in central Sinai.
There is no indication the aircraft – which was travelling to St Petersburg – was shot down.
The plane was 18 years old, according to reports.
Russia has also declared a day of mourning tomorrow.