Egypt's Prosecution to Cooperate With Moscow in Russian Plane Crash Inquiry

Ahram Online
Saturday 31 Oct 2015

North Sinai prosecution summoned air traffic control staff at Al-Arish Airport; Russia's top investigative committee launches case against Kogalymavia, operator of the crashed AirBus

Egypt's general prosecution has agreed to cooperate with a Russian government onthe Russian plane crash in central Sinai earlier Saturday.

The North Sinai prosecution also summoned air traffic control workers at Al-Arish Airport for investigations, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

A total of 217 passengers and seven crew members were killed in the crash.

Some news reports suggested that a technical error might have caused the accident.

The plane, which mainly carried Russian tourists, washeading from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to Russia's St Petersburg, had lost contact with radar at 6.20am CLT (Cairo local time), less than half an hour after takeoff.

It was reportedly flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet at the time of the crash.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail along with other ministers headed to Sinai on Saturday afternoon to monitor latest developments and rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal said it is "too early to decide the reason behind the crash."

Russia's top investigative committee has launched a case against the airline Kogalymavia under an article regulating "violation of rules of flights and preparations for them."

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