Egyptian authorities report there are no survivors in Russian Airbus A321 plane crash

According to preliminary information, the aircraft A321 of the airline Kolavia carrying out flight Sharm el-Sheikh - Petersburg crashed on Saturday, October 31, 100km from Arish in North Sinai

According to the Egyptian authorities there are no survivors in Russian Airbus A321 plane crash, Associated Press reported Saturday.

"There are no survivors in Russian plane crash," the authorities confirmed.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov has told journalists that Moscow will actively participate in the investigation of Kolavia plane crash in Egypt.

"We maintain working contacts with all air traffic controllers. In any case, we can talk about causes of the crash only after all information is analyzed and an international investigation is conducted in accordance with the Chicago Convention. Russia will actively participate in this investigation. As soon as any results are received, we will promptly share them with everyone involved," Sokolov said.

"We know where the mark vanished. It disappeared on the Israeli-Egyptian border or around it," he noted. "We have the full version of technical documents. The airliner had an airworthiness certificate and was allowed to perform international flights," Sokolov added.

"Together with Egyptian aviation authorities, we will investigate this accident at the site. We can already say that it was not an incident. A catastrophe happened with our airliner. The governmental commission is starting its work on investigating the causes of the crash," he said.

According to preliminary information, the aircraft A321 of the airline Kolavia carrying out flight Sharm el-Sheikh - Petersburg crashed on Saturday, October 31, 100km from Arish in North Sinai. Al Arabiya TV channel said citing Egyptian security services that the airliner was completely destroyed. There were 224 people onboard.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry of Egypt 63 men, 138 women and 17 children aged from 2 to 17 years were on board of the Russian aircraft that crashed in Egypt.

According to the airport’s administration report, all passengers and crewmembers were Russian citizens.