A passenger jet traveling from the Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg disappeared from radar screens in Cypriot airspace. The Russian Kogalymavia airlines Airbus A-321, according to sources, had 217 passengers (17 children) and seven crew members on board. All of the passengers were Russian civilians.

Plane wreckage was found in the Hassana area, with rescuers stating that they heard screams from within the plane. All 17 children were dragged out of the plane dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an official investigation into the crash and he declared November 1 a day of mourning. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry officials have gathered to discuss the situation over crash of the Airbus 320 in Egypt’s Sinai.

Russia’s embassy in Egypt tweeted twice about the incident:

1. The plane attempted to land at El Arish airport, Egyptian officials say
2. The recovery of bodies has begun.

Earlier

Confusion initially surrounded the fate of the Russian airliner that went missing 23 minutes after taking off from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. Some reports say it reappeared over Turkey but other reports in the Egyptian media say it had crashed in Sinai. To create further confusion, Russian reports state it went missing over Cyprus.

Egyptian PM Sherif Ismail  confirmed that the Russian plane crash.