Egypt pushed back on Saturday against international suspicions that a bomb downed a Russian plane in the Sinai, as investigators said the cause of the crash that killed 224 was still unknown.
Initial observations from the cockpit voice recorder on the Airbus A-321 were made public amid intensifying restrictions on air travel that threatened to cripple Egypt’s vital tourism industry.
In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, from where the doomed airliner took off on Oct. 31, thousands of Russian and British tourists waited for word of when they could fly home.
Photo: AP
In Cairo, the Egyptian head of the technical investigation committee told reporters the cause of the crash a week ago was still not known.
“Initial observations... do not allow for identifying the origin of the in-flight break-up” of the aircraft 23 minutes and 14 seconds after it departed from Sharm el-Sheikh, Ayman el-Mokkadem said.
“A noise was heard in the last second” on the voice recorder, he told a press conference. “A spectral analysis is to be carried out by specialized labs in order to identify the nature of this sound.”
On Friday, Moscow halted all Russian flights to Egypt, while London has stopped British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. Empty aircraft are being sent out to bring stranded holidaymakers home but the process would be slow.
Russia is to send 44 planes to repatriate its nationals, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said.
Of 11 British aircraft on standby in Cyprus earlier on Saturday, three remained and were expected to depart yesterday to pick up stranded British tourists, airport officials said.
Two aircraft left Cyprus for Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday afternoon but six flew back to Britain empty.
Sources in France close to the investigation told reporters that black box data pointed to a bomb exploding and of a sudden, violent demise of the Airbus.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said a bomb “had more likely than not” been the cause of the disaster.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said earlier Saturday the inquiry had yet to establish any firm theory and that foreign intelligence that triggered the international travel restrictions had not been shared with Cairo.
Already battered by years of unrest, Egypt is heavily reliant on tourism and fears the effect on the industry if it is found that a bomb caused the crash.
Russians comprise the bulk of tourists who visit Red Sea resorts such as Sharm el-Sheikh each year and nearly 80,000 are currently in Egypt, a Russian official said.
Repatriations would be spread over the next two weeks after President Vladimir Putin’s decision to halt Russian flights to Egypt.
“Tourists would be returning from Egypt to Russia when they planned to,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said.
Russia followed Britain in saying that holidaymakers would return home without hold luggage which would be flown separately.
That restriction has prompted Egypt to limit the number of daily repatriation flights because it says there is only so much baggage left behind its airports can accommodate.
“It’s going to be a long wait,” tourist Maria Chernova said.
Nine flights carrying about 1,500 people were expected back in Britain Saturday, but the British government warned that some tourists might have to stay on longer before they can be flown home.
About 19,000 Britons are thought to be still in Sharm el-Sheikh.
“I have to fly out today at any cost; my son is getting married tomorrow and I am still here,” a desperate Jane Kelly said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the decision to restrict flights did not mean Moscow believed that the crash — the worst aviation disaster in Russia’s history — was due to an attack.
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. A source in Paris close to the investigation said the black box data “strongly favors” the bomb theory.
Another person close to the case said the plane suffered “a violent, sudden” end, saying: “Everything was normal during the flight, absolutely normal, and suddenly there was nothing.”
The Islamic State said it downed the plane in retaliation for Russian air strikes in Syria, but has not said how. If it was behind the attack, it would be the first time the militants have hit a passenger plane.
US President Barack Obama has said Washington is “seriously” considering the possibility of a bomb.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said security screenings of US-bound flights from some Middle East airports would be stepped up.
Meanwhile, British media reported that a Thomson Airways plane heading for Sharm el-Sheikh came within 300 meters of a missile in August, but British authorities concluded it was connected to Egyptian military exercises.
An Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson called the missile allegation “preposterous,” saying it involved only ground-to-ground fire in an exercise airlines had been told about in advance.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number