A Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt on Saturday "broke up in the air", a Russian aviation official said on Sunday, adding that it was too early to talk about conclusions from the crash, Russian news agencies reported.
Viktor Sorochenko, an official with the Intergovernmental Aviation Committee, made the comments after inspecting the crash site on Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
On Saturday, the Airbus A321 carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Sinai peninsula shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard. The airliner operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.
In the meanwhile, Egyptian analysts have begun examining the contents of two black boxes recovered from the plane. Interfax news agency reported, Russia has grounded Airbus A321 jets flown by the Kogalymavia airline.
Read: Russia mourns victims of plane crash in Egypt
