Tweet
Images of the downed plane were released by the office of Egypt's prime minister, who visited the site Two major airlines say they will avoid flying over Sinai after a Russian plane crashed on the Egyptian peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.
Lufthansa and Air France-KLM said they would avoid the route while the cause of the crash was investigated.
The Kogalymavia airline flight came down early on Saturday, after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh for St Petersburg.
An affiliate of Islamic State (IS) in Sinai said it brought down the plane but officials dismissed the claim.
Russia said such reports were inaccurate, and Egypt's prime minister said no "irregular" activities were suspected.
Russian authorities say the plane was carrying 217 passengers, 138 of them women and 17 children aged between 2 and 17. Most were tourists. There were seven crew on board.
Egyptian officials said 214 of the passengers were Russian and three Ukrainian.
Egypt's civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 9,450m (31,000ft) when it disappeared.
Security experts say a plane flying at that altitude would be beyond the range of a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile (Manpad), which Sinai militants are known to possess.
Wreckage was found in the Hasana area of Sinai and the plane's two black box recorders were removed, Egypt's civil aviation minister said. One of the instruments logs cockpit recordings and the other registers flight data.
Access to the area is strictly controlled by the military.
Image copyright AP Image caption Prime Minister Sharif Ismail (third from right) visited the site of the crash on Saturday afternoon Image copyright EPA Image copyright EPA German carrier Lufthansa said it would avoid flying over the Sinai peninsula "as long as the cause for today's crash has not been clarified". On Saturday evening, Air France-KLM said it was following suit.
British Airways and easyJet said their routes were regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.
Sinai has an active militant network, and on Saturday afternoon, jihadis allied to IS made a claim on social media that they brought down flight KGL9268.
Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told Interfax news agency that "such reports cannot be considered true". No evidence had been seen that indicated the Airbus A-321 plane was targeted, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Sunday a day of mourning.
He has ordered an official investigation into the crash, and a commission headed by Mr Sokolov left for Egypt on Saturday afternoon.
At the scene: Sarah Rainsford, BBC News, St Petersburg
Jump media player
Media player help
Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionFriends and relatives clung to one another at the airport, as Sarah Rainsford reports This hotel near St Petersburg airport has become a gathering point for relatives of those on flight 9268. There are medics here to help them, and we saw an Orthodox priest. Some have been giving DNA samples, to try to identify their loved ones.
In the lobby, men from the investigative committee are huddled over files and phones - beside cabinets full of souvenirs. For some reason, riot police are patrolling the corridors too.
Occasionally, someone emerges red-eyed from the room where officials are passing on what information and answers they can to relatives. But it's still impossible to say why this happened.
A spokeswoman for the airline says the pilot was experienced, the Airbus plane had been through all its safety checks. But there are a lot of people here with urgent questions about why their friends and relatives are not safely home tonight after a holiday in the Egyptian sun.
The office of Egypt's prime minister said 129 bodies had so far been recovered and were taken to Cairo.
One un-named official described a "tragic scene" with bodies of victims still strapped to seats.
The plane appeared to have split in two, he told Reuters, with one part burning up and the other crashing into a rock.
A criminal case had been opened against Kogalymavia for "violation of rules of flight and preparation for them", Russia's Ria news agency reported.
Timeline: the course of flight KGL9268
05:58 Egyptian time (03:58 GMT): flight leaves Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian cabinet says in a statement
06:14 Egyptian time (04:14 GMT): plane fails to make scheduled contact with air traffic control based in Larnaca, Cyprus, according to Sergei Izdolsky, an official with Russia's air transport agency.
06:17 Egyptian time, approx (04:17 GMT): plane comes down over the Sinai peninsula, according to Airbus
11:12 Egyptian time (09:12 GMT): flight had been due to land in St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport
Oksana Golovin, a spokeswoman for Kogalymavia, said the company did not see any grounds to blame human error.
She told a press conference that the pilot had 12,000 hours of flying experience. Kogalymavia did not yet know what caused the crash, she said, but the plane was "fully, 100% airworthy".
Police have searched the company's offices.
Jump media player
Media player help
Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionMikael Robertsson from flight tracking service Flight Radar 24: ''This was something more than a planned diversion'' Mikael Robertsson, from the live flight tracking service Flight Radar 24, told the BBC that the plane started to drop very quickly, losing 1,500 metres in one minute before coverage was lost.
Local weather observations near the rescue scene suggest relatively benign conditions.
Share this story About sharing
Middle East
World powers step up Syria peace quest
Full article World powers step up Syria peace quest
Iran exiles in Iraq hit by rockets
Full article Iran exiles in Iraq hit by rockets
Rapper turned IS fighter killed by US
Full article Rapper turned IS fighter killed by US
Top Stories
Airlines review Sinai route after crash Two major airlines say they will avoid flying over Sinai after a Russian plane crashed on the Egyptian peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.
1 hour ago
Bangladeshi publisher hacked to death 4 hours ago
New Zealand crowned rugby champions 1 hour ago
Features & Analysis
Pumpkin mania
The pumpkin spice craze sweeping America
Racing again
Formula 1 goes back to the future in Mexico
Video 2:29
Market forces
How to buy eggs in Cuba
Waiting for life
Is a generation of young people unable to grow up?
Soviet throwback
Does China still need five-year plans?
Video 1:51
'More than cute'
Father's campaign for superhero Halloween costumes for his daughters
Growing up alone
Being a child and a parent under China’s one-child rule
10 things
Dancing to Gangnam Style raises pain thresholds, and more news nuggets
Difficult neighbour
Afghan conflict sparks fear and instability in Tajikistan
Most Popular popular
Most read
Lufthansa and Air France-KLM said they would avoid the route while the cause of the crash was investigated.
The Kogalymavia airline flight came down early on Saturday, after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh for St Petersburg.
An affiliate of Islamic State (IS) in Sinai said it brought down the plane but officials dismissed the claim.
Russia said such reports were inaccurate, and Egypt's prime minister said no "irregular" activities were suspected.
Russian authorities say the plane was carrying 217 passengers, 138 of them women and 17 children aged between 2 and 17. Most were tourists. There were seven crew on board.
Egyptian officials said 214 of the passengers were Russian and three Ukrainian.
Egypt's civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 9,450m (31,000ft) when it disappeared.
Security experts say a plane flying at that altitude would be beyond the range of a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile (Manpad), which Sinai militants are known to possess.
Wreckage was found in the Hasana area of Sinai and the plane's two black box recorders were removed, Egypt's civil aviation minister said. One of the instruments logs cockpit recordings and the other registers flight data.
Access to the area is strictly controlled by the military.
Image copyright AP Image caption Prime Minister Sharif Ismail (third from right) visited the site of the crash on Saturday afternoon Image copyright EPA Image copyright EPA German carrier Lufthansa said it would avoid flying over the Sinai peninsula "as long as the cause for today's crash has not been clarified". On Saturday evening, Air France-KLM said it was following suit.
British Airways and easyJet said their routes were regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.
Sinai has an active militant network, and on Saturday afternoon, jihadis allied to IS made a claim on social media that they brought down flight KGL9268.
Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told Interfax news agency that "such reports cannot be considered true". No evidence had been seen that indicated the Airbus A-321 plane was targeted, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Sunday a day of mourning.
He has ordered an official investigation into the crash, and a commission headed by Mr Sokolov left for Egypt on Saturday afternoon.
At the scene: Sarah Rainsford, BBC News, St Petersburg
Jump media player
Media player help
Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionFriends and relatives clung to one another at the airport, as Sarah Rainsford reports This hotel near St Petersburg airport has become a gathering point for relatives of those on flight 9268. There are medics here to help them, and we saw an Orthodox priest. Some have been giving DNA samples, to try to identify their loved ones.
In the lobby, men from the investigative committee are huddled over files and phones - beside cabinets full of souvenirs. For some reason, riot police are patrolling the corridors too.
Occasionally, someone emerges red-eyed from the room where officials are passing on what information and answers they can to relatives. But it's still impossible to say why this happened.
A spokeswoman for the airline says the pilot was experienced, the Airbus plane had been through all its safety checks. But there are a lot of people here with urgent questions about why their friends and relatives are not safely home tonight after a holiday in the Egyptian sun.
The office of Egypt's prime minister said 129 bodies had so far been recovered and were taken to Cairo.
One un-named official described a "tragic scene" with bodies of victims still strapped to seats.
The plane appeared to have split in two, he told Reuters, with one part burning up and the other crashing into a rock.
A criminal case had been opened against Kogalymavia for "violation of rules of flight and preparation for them", Russia's Ria news agency reported.
Timeline: the course of flight KGL9268
05:58 Egyptian time (03:58 GMT): flight leaves Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian cabinet says in a statement
06:14 Egyptian time (04:14 GMT): plane fails to make scheduled contact with air traffic control based in Larnaca, Cyprus, according to Sergei Izdolsky, an official with Russia's air transport agency.
06:17 Egyptian time, approx (04:17 GMT): plane comes down over the Sinai peninsula, according to Airbus
11:12 Egyptian time (09:12 GMT): flight had been due to land in St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport
Oksana Golovin, a spokeswoman for Kogalymavia, said the company did not see any grounds to blame human error.
She told a press conference that the pilot had 12,000 hours of flying experience. Kogalymavia did not yet know what caused the crash, she said, but the plane was "fully, 100% airworthy".
Police have searched the company's offices.
Jump media player
Media player help
Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionMikael Robertsson from flight tracking service Flight Radar 24: ''This was something more than a planned diversion'' Mikael Robertsson, from the live flight tracking service Flight Radar 24, told the BBC that the plane started to drop very quickly, losing 1,500 metres in one minute before coverage was lost.
Local weather observations near the rescue scene suggest relatively benign conditions.
Share this story About sharing
Middle East
World powers step up Syria peace quest
- 30 October 2015
- From the section Middle East
- 476 comments
Full article World powers step up Syria peace quest
Iran exiles in Iraq hit by rockets
- 30 October 2015
- From the section Middle East
Full article Iran exiles in Iraq hit by rockets
Rapper turned IS fighter killed by US
- 30 October 2015
- From the section US & Canada
Full article Rapper turned IS fighter killed by US
Top Stories
Airlines review Sinai route after crash Two major airlines say they will avoid flying over Sinai after a Russian plane crashed on the Egyptian peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.
1 hour ago
Bangladeshi publisher hacked to death 4 hours ago
New Zealand crowned rugby champions 1 hour ago
Features & Analysis
Pumpkin mania
The pumpkin spice craze sweeping America
Racing again
Formula 1 goes back to the future in Mexico
Video 2:29
Market forces
How to buy eggs in Cuba
Waiting for life
Is a generation of young people unable to grow up?
Soviet throwback
Does China still need five-year plans?
Video 1:51
'More than cute'
Father's campaign for superhero Halloween costumes for his daughters
Growing up alone
Being a child and a parent under China’s one-child rule
10 things
Dancing to Gangnam Style raises pain thresholds, and more news nuggets
Difficult neighbour
Afghan conflict sparks fear and instability in Tajikistan
Most Popular popular
Most read