Egyptian Minister Informs Russia on A321 Crash Probe

Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Hossam Kamal informed Russia on the interim results of the ongoing investigation into the causes of the Russian A321 plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A Russian-owned Airbus A321 with 224 people on board crashed on October 31 while en route from Egypt’s resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, leaving no survivors. The tragedy is the largest disaster in the history of Russian civil aviation.

"The mentioned topic was touched upon at the meeting with Mohamed Hossam Kamal, who informed the Russian side of the intermediate results of the aviation incident investigation conducted by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation," Markin said following the Monday visit of committee chairman Alexander Bastrykin to Cairo.

The committee spokesman added that the sides agreed to continue cooperation and information exchange in the ongoing crash investigation.

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service, an improvised explosive device equivalent to about one kilogram of TNT detonated on board the A321 shortly after take-off. The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the atrocity.