Black box from plane indicates bombing

Black box data from the Russian plane that crashed in Egypt last week indicate it was bombed, sources said, ahead of a first update Saturday from the Egyptian-led probe into the disaster.

Both the flight data and voice recorders failed 24 minutes after the plane took off from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort en route to Saint Petersburg on October 31, when it plummeted from the sky into the Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board.

Cairo and Moscow initially dismissed a claim Daesh (IS) downed the plane, but mounting evidence that the Airbus A321 was attacked has prompted a growing list of governments to warn against travel to Sharm el-Sheikh.

On Friday, President Vladimir Putin ordered all Russian flights to Egypt halted, in a fresh blow to the country's already struggling tourism industry.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies the measure did not mean Moscow believed the crash -- the worst aviation disaster in Russia's history -- was due to an attack, and the investigation continued.

The head of Russia's emergencies ministry said Russian experts had taken samples from the crashed jet and were testing it for any traces of explosives.

But a source close to the investigation told AFP the black box data "strongly favours" the theory a bomb on board brought down the plane.

Another person close to the case in Paris said the plane had suffered "a violent, sudden" end, saying: "Everything was normal during the flight, absolutely normal, and suddenly there was nothing."

Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal and the head of the Egyptian-led investigation into the disaster are to hold a news conference at 1500 GMT on Saturday, the ministry confirmed.

80,000 Russian tourists stranded in Egypt

Nearly 80,000 Russian tourists are estimated have been stranded in Egypt by their government's decision to halt flights.

Nearly 80,000 Russians are currently vacationing in Egypt but there will be no emergency evacuation, with tourists set to return home when they want, an official told AFP.

"Nearly 80,000 tourists are in Egypt," Irina Tyurina, a spokeswoman for the Russian Union of the Tourism Industry, told AFP after a government meeting.

"There will be no evacuation," she said, adding that most were staying in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.

Empty planes are being sent to Egypt to bring Russian holidaymakers home, but they will be able to return at their own pace, official said.

"Tourists will be returning from Egypt to Russia when they planned to," said Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who is in a charge of a task force established to oversee the return of tourists.

"Most people left for two weeks -- our usual holiday tour lasts two weeks -- therefore they will return in about two weeks," he said in televised comments late Friday.

Russia followed in Britain's footsteps, saying that holidaymakers will be returning home without their hold luggage, which will be brought back to the country separately.

The emergencies ministry will later Saturday be sending two planes, one to Hurghada and another one to Sharm el-Sheikh, to pick up tourists' luggage, a spokeswoman, Tatyana Zholobova, told AFP.

Britain lifts block on flights out

Britain on Friday lifted its block on flights out of Sharm el-Sheikh but just 1,200 of the estimated 20,000 Britons who were holidaying in the resort managed to get home.

There were angry scenes as thousands more who had hoped to fly home were sent back to their hotels after Egypt placed restrictions on the number of repatriation flights.

Those that did get out were forced to leave their check-in baggage behind to be transported separately after London ordered airlines to allow hand luggage only.

Egypt's aviation minister said the restrictions on flights were imposed because the airport could not cope with all the luggage left behind.

"I think a lot of people will question whether they ever want to go to Egypt again," said human resources manager Nicky Bull, as she arrived back in Britain on board one of the eight flights that made it out.

 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.