IS Claims to Have Downed Russian Plane, 100 Bodies Recovered

IS group’s Egypt affiliate claims responsibility for downing the Russian passenger plane.

Relatives react after a Russian airliner with 217 passengers and seven crew members crashed. (Photo: AP)

The Islamic State group’s Egypt affiliate claimed responsibility for downing the Russian passenger plane that killed all the 224 aboard including 17 children, as reported by AFP. CNN IBN reports, rescue officers have recovered 100 bodies, including five children.

This situation has discouraged other airline companies like Lufthansa and Air France to ply flights over Sinai, as reported by IBN Live.

Wreckage of the Russian plane that crashed in Sinai. (Photo: Twitter)

Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday that it was checking fuel samples from the last refuelling stop, in the Russian city of Samara, of the airliner.

In the latest update, Egypt has recovered the black box of the airplane.

The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in a desolate mountainous area of central Sinai soon after daybreak, the Aviation Ministry said.

The graph given below shows that the airplane was travelling at the speed of 1828.8m per sec while falling down.

File photo of the Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus A321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ. (Photo: AP)

<p>The soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane in Sinai.</p>

<p><b>Statement circulated on social media</b></p>

People gather at the airline information desk at of Russian airline Kogalymavia’s desk at Pulkovo airport in Russia. (Photo: AP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has spoken on the phone with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss the crash.

Al-Sisi offered deep condolences and promised to create conditions for the widest possible participation of Russian specialists in the investigation into the cause of the crash, the Kremlin said.

However, according to AFP, Russia is sceptical of the IS claim.

Bodies are being brought to the morgue in Cairo.

Mourning relatives of the deceased people talk to the media.

(With inputs from Reuters)