Russian airliner with over 220 passengers crashed in Sinai: Egyptian PM

A Russian airliner carrying over 220 passengers crashed today in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, the office of the prime minister said in a statement.

A “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai,” the office of Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in a statement.

A senior aviation official said it was a charter flight operated by a Russian company and had on board 217 passengers and seven crew members. Communication with the aircraft was lost, he added.

The airliner was travelling from the Egyptian resort Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.

It belonged to Kogalymavia, a small airline based in Western Siberia.