Investigators probe deadly Russian airliner crash in Egypt
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CAIRO (AFP) - International investigators have begun probing why a Russian airliner carrying 224 people crashed in a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing everyone on board in one of the deadliest Airbus incidents of the past decade.
As Russia on Sunday started a day of mourning for the victims, Cairo and Moscow both rejected the claim from a militant group affiliated with Islamic State jihadists that it downed the aircraft flown by the Kogalymavia airline, operating under the name Metrojet.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said experts had confirmed that the militants could not down a plane at the 30,000 feet (9,000 metre) altitude the Airbus 321 was flying, while Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the claim "cannot be considered accurate".
The plane's black box data recorders have been recovered and sent for analysis, and late Saturday Sokolov and Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov arrived in Cairo with a team of experts to help with an Egyptian-led investigation.
Two air accident investigators from France -- Airbus's home country -- are also to travel to Egypt along with six experts from the aerospace giant to help with the probe.
Germany's Lufthansa, Emirates and Air France all said they would halt flights over Sinai until the reasons behind the crash became clear.
In March, the US Federal Aviation Administration had advised US civil aircraft to avoid flight operations in restive Sinai Province below 26,000 feet.
The plane, carrying 214 Russian and three Ukrainian passengers and seven crew, lost contact with air traffic control 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for Saint Petersburg.
"Unfortunately, all passengers of Kogalymavia flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh-Saint Petersburg have died. We issue condolences to family and friends," the Russian embassy in Cairo said.
Russia has declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims, who ranged in age from a 10-month-old girl to a 77-year-old woman.
