Russian airplane broke up in mid-air

BBC News

A Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, killing all 224 people on board, broke up in mid-air, a Russian official says.

Victor Sorochenko, the head of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, said it was too early to conclude what caused the crash on Saturday.

He told reporters debris was found across a 20sq km-wide area of Sinai. So far 163 bodies have been found.

Russia observed a day of mourning on Sunday after its worst air disaster.

Mr Sorochenko spoke after visiting the site of the debris, near the village of Hasana. The head of Russia's Air Transport Agency, Aleksandr Neradko, said that "all signs attest to the fact that the aircraft disintegrated in the air at a high altitude".

Jihadists allied to so-called Islamic State in Sinai, where such groups are active, had made a claim on social media that they had brought down flight KGL9268.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34694057