MOSCOW, January 3rd, 2004 (RIA Novosti correspondent) - According to the preliminary information the Russian embassy received from the Egyptian authorities, there were no Russian citizens onboard the passenger jet which crashed into the Red Sea on Saturday morning, said official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Yakovenko.
"At present the Egyptian side is specifying the citizenship of the passengers," Yakovenko added.
"It is now clear that the majority of passengers were French, plus there were some Egyptians onboard the jet too," said Yakovenko.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry of Egypt has quoted the MENA agency that there were 148 people onboard the crashed Boeing-737, including 135 passengers, six crewmembers, and seven members of the Italian crew who piloted the plane on the way from Milan (Italy) to Sharm-el-Sheikh.
