• Home
• /
• Europe

Sequence of events in the Russian plane crash in Egypt

Moscow - Russia confirms bomb attack responsible for the Sinai plane crash.

Below is a sequence of events since a Russian plane crashed in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board, after Russia confirmed on Tuesday a bomb attack was responsible.
The victims were mainly Russian tourists heading home to Saint Petersburg.
- Egypt announces that a "Russian civilian plane... crashed in the central Sinai" desert in the country's northeast.
The Airbus A321 operated by Russian charter company Metrojet, was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew.
Contact was lost 23 minutes after takeoff from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh headed for Saint Petersburg, while the plane was at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
- Egypt says that there are no survivors.
Also Read: 224 killed as Russian plane crashes in Egypt
- The Daesh group's Egyptian affiliate claims on Twitter it "succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane in Sinai" in response to Russia's air strikes in Syria.
- The plane's two black boxes are found.
- A senior Russian aviation official says the Airbus broke apart "in the air" before it crashed, strewing debris over a wide area. The radius of the search is extended to 40 kilometres.
Also Read: Russian plane broke up 'in air'
- A senior Metrojet executive insists that "no technical failures" could account for the disaster, adding: "The only explanation is some kind of external action".
- US officials tell CNN that a military satellite detected a heat flash over the Sinai at the time of the crash.
- Daesh insists it downed the plane, but provides no new details.
- Britain says it is concerned the plane might have been brought down by a bomb and suspends flights from Sharm El Sheikh.
Also Read: Britain says Daesh likely brought down Russian plane
- Several airlines, including Air France, Emirates and Lufthansa decide not to fly over Sinai, while others cancel or postpone their flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.
-The Kremlin dismisses comments on possible causes of the crash as "speculation".
- US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron raise the possibility of a bomb attack.
- Britain starts to repatriate some 20,000 of its citizens from Sharm El Sheikh.
- President Vladimir Putin suspends Russian air traffic with Egypt.
- An analysis of the plane's black boxes point to a bomb on board, a source close to the probe says.
- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry says the Egyptian-led inquiry has yet to establish any theory about the cause.
- Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says that the crash was possibly due to a terrorist attack.
- Air links between Russia and Egypt will be cut for at least several months, the Kremlin says.
- Russian aviation authorities ban EgyptAir from flying into the country.
- Moscow confirms that a bomb brought down the jet and vows to punish those responsible.
- Putin pledges to ramp up Moscow's bombing campaign in Syria in retaliation