Russian Plane Crashes In Sinai, Reportedly killing All 224 People On Board

A Russian passenger airliner crashed early Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula, with 224 people aboard, officials said.

All passengers were killed, the Russian Embassy in Cairo said on Twitter.

Russian state media reported that many of the 217 passengers were Russians returning from vacation. The passengers were reported to include 17 children. There were seven crew members.

The plane had departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Here’s what we are learning as the day wears on:

• Al-Ahram, an Egyptian state-run newspaper, quoting medical sources, reports that 100 intact bodies have been recovered and are being prepared for transfer to a morgue in Cairo, but other bodies are in pieces. The recovery of 100 bodies this quickly from a smoldering wreck seems highly unlikely, however.

• Bodies of plane crash victims are being recovered from the crash site, the Russian Embassy in Cairo says on its official Twitter account.

• An Egyptian investigation team has reached the crash site of the crashed jet in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, state-run Nile TV reports, citing the minister of civil aviation.

• Airbus, the plane’s maker, issues a statement on Twitter: “We are aware of the media reports,” the tweet reads. “Efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We’ll provide more information as soon as available.”

CNN