Ministry of Civil Aviation: The plane disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff
The Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that search and rescue teams had found the Russian plane in the Al-Hasana area south of El-Arish in central Sinai. The plane, an Airbus 320 carrying 217 passengers in addition to its crew of 7, disappeared from air navigation radar screens 23 minutes after takeoff. It was on a flight from Sharm El-Sheikh to the Russian city of St. Petersburg, having taken off at 5:51 a.m. Cairo time today, Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement today that the plane, belonging to the Russian company Kolavia, was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens, and that search and rescue teams had reached the site of the wreckage.
