Voices Heard In Russian Jet Wreckage - Reports
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Sky News – 18 minutes ago
Voices have been heard inside the wreckage of the Russian passenger plane which crashed over central Sinai with 224 people on board, according to Egyptian search and rescue officials.
An officer at the scene, who requested anonymity, told news agency Reuters: "...We hope to find survivors especially after hearing pained voices of people inside."
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.
Rescuers have discovered the crucial black box, which contains vital aircraft data and will help investigators to work out what happened in the moments before the plane began its rapid descent.
The Airbus A321, operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, was travelling from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russian city of St Petersburg when it disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes into the flight.
Egyptian security sources say there is no indication the plane was shot down or blown up.
:: What Caused KGL-9268 To Plunge From The Sky?
Egypt's North Sinai is home to a two-year-old Islamist insurgency. Militants linked to Islamic State have killed hundreds of soldiers and have also attacked Western targets in recent months.
According to Egyptian media, the pilot reported a technical failure shortly after take off and requested to land at a nearby airport, Sky's Middle East correspondent Sherine Tadros reported.
However, Mike Vivian, the former head of flight operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, told Sky News "hostile action" should not be ruled out.
"Although hostile action has been dismissed I am absolutely certain that will be one of the focuses of investigators on the ground," he said.
The plane, with registration number KGL-9268, had been flying at an altitude of 31,000ft when contact was lost, according to Egypt's civil aviation ministry.
Egyptian search and rescue teams have located the wreckage in the Hassana area, 22 miles (35km) south of the northern city of Arish, the ministry said.
Russian aviation sources are reporting that the plane was carrying 200 adult passengers, 17 children and 7 crew members.
Several hundred relatives of those on board the flight gathered at Pulkovo airport near St Petersburg, where the plane was due to land, as reports of the crashed began to emerge. Many have now been taken to a nearby hotel to await information on the fate of their loved ones from the Russian authorities.
Sky's Russia correspondent John Sparks says Russian authorities have so far conveyed very little information to those gathered, although President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
He has declared Sunday a national day of mourning.
Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's top investigative body, has also opened an investigation into possible violations of flight safety procedures.
Kogalymavia/Metrojet, a small airline with only around six jets, mainly operates Russian internal flights. The firm has had one safety incident with an aircraft on the ground in 2011 in which three people were killed.
Initially there were several conflicting reports about the fate of the plane. An Egyptian official told local media the plane was safely in Turkish airspace after briefly losing contact with air traffic controllers.
There were also reports that the plane went missing in Cypriot airspace.
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