Russian plane crashes in Sinai; ...all 224 people on board killed

A Russian passenger plane crashed early Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard, officials said.

Russian state media reported that many of the 217 passengers were Russians returning from vacation. The passengers were reported to include 17 children. There were seven crew members.

The plane had departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, near the southern tip of the Sinai, on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. The plane vanished from radar 23 minutes into the flight, at 6:20 a.m. local time.

Egypt has been battling insurgents in the Sinai who are aligned with the terrorist group ISIS. But it is not known that that this played any role in the crash.

The cause of the jetliner crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula still is unknown, but it is most likely due to a technical failure and there is no evidence of any terrorist action, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic on Saturday. The Airbus A321 had a routine check before flight, showing everything was OK to proceed, Al-Mahjoob said.

Credit: CNN