Russian plane crash victims ‘died from decompression and bodies were left unrecognisable as human beings’ following Sinai terror attack
Passengers 'were left badly crippled' after being subjected to 'tremendous g-force'
THE majority of the 224 Russian passengers and crew on a tourist flight hit by a bomb attack over Egypt died in midair from "severe barotrauma" after the tail of the A321 airbus was blown off.
An explosion in the oversized baggage compartment led to the loss of the plane 11 months ago over the Sinai peninsula, according to an international commission into the crash, reports Moscow newspaper Kommersant.
A small bomb was hidden among children's pushchairs and cane chairs, bought by tourists as souvenirs, which detonated 22 minutes after takeoff blowing off the tail off the Kogalymavia aircraft leading to an "uncontrolled dive".
Most passengers on the flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg "died in the air from severe barotrauma" -- rapidly changing air pressure after decompression.
They suffered an "horrendous overload", according to the Russian newspaper, citing its own sources on an investigation team which includes experts from Egypt, Russia, France and the US.
An Interfax report said those on board "sustained grave barotraumas and were exposed to tremendous g-force, and therefore died in midair".
After the crash, a relative of passengers who had tried to identify his loved ones said "the majority of the bodies are badly crippled.
"It is impossible to recognise they were human beings".
Earlier, Russian reports had claimed the bomb causing the country's worst-ever aviation disaster was placed in the passenger cabin, beneath a seat.
However, after a reconstruction of the plane's fragments in a hangar in Cairo, a different conclusion was reached.
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"The centre [of the blast] was not behind the [last row of the] seats, as was presumed before, but about two metres lower, on the floor of the so-called aft bulk compartment," reported Kommersant.
While the bomb was not very powerful, its blast immediately tore off the aircraft's tail assembly, sending the plane into an uncontrolled dive.
It is believed one or more employees at Sharm el-Sheikh airport were "hired by terrorists" to plant the bomb on 31 October 2015, stated the newspaper.
"The oversized items they were transported toward the aircraft parked on the tarmac by a special loader, in whose operation the terrorists' accomplices were involved.
"These people had to load the cargo through the bulk compartment's door located on the right side of the airliner's aft section, and they apparently brought a small package with a bomb into the plane first.
"It has been determined that the explosion occurred on the floor in the left side of the compartment.
"The device was then blocked by pushchairs and (cane) furniture and so was reliably covered from prying eyes."
Militant group Sinai Province, affiliated with Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for downing the plane.
The Islamic State group had published last November a picture of the improvised explosive device (IED) they allegedly used to bring down the flight.
Intelligence information from Britain was passed to the Russians indicating that the aircraft was blown up by terrorists.
Egypt maintains that it still lacks evidence as to the cause of the crash.
Mohamed Zamzam, former Chairman of the Egyptian Airports Company, has claimed there is no proof that the plane was brought down by a bomb on board.
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