Russia plane crash: No survivors, say Egyptian officials

A statement from the Egyptian prime minister's office said Sherif Ismail had formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

A Russian Airbus A-321 aircraft carrying 224 people crashed in central Sinai early Saturday.

Aviation officials say the Metrojet airliner was cruising at 36,000 feet when air traffic controllers lost contact.

A senior Egyptian air traffic control official said the pilot told him in their last communication that he had radio trouble.

Later on Saturday, the Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for downing the flight, saying it was in revenge for Russian airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Syria, the BBC reported.

Most of the 100 bodies recovered so far from the site of the crash were burned, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The crew of the plane had made recent complaints about engine trouble, according to Russian media reports.

A Russian aircraft carrying more than 220 people crashed Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula more than 20 minutes after takeoff from a Red Sea resort popular with Russian tourists, Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

He said that the plane had split in two and that rescuers had found at least five dead children at the scene, other bodies were discovered still strapped into their seats.

All passengers were killed, according to a tweet by the Russian Embassy in Cairo.

A team of Russian investigators was sent immediately to Egypt, according to Russia's Emergencies Ministry, the Russian state-run news agency RIA reports. Egyptian air accident Chief said that the Russian plane had left Egyptians airspace safely and also contacted the Turkish air control control but later lost contact. But Egyptian security sources said there was no indication that the Airbus jet had been shot down or blown up. The plane was bound for St. Petersburg.

Sisi said the Egyptian authorities were working to determine the exact causes of the crash.