Off the wire
• Dollar changes hands at lower 121 yen level in early Tokyo deals  • Kenya's Kibet marches on in Uganda Tennis Open  • Tokyo shares open sharply higher on U.S. gains, weaker yen  • Kenyan coach appointed to lead Uganda for Olympic Rugby qualifiers  • Real Madrid progress, Sevilla crash out of Champions League  • Nigeria ready to overcome S. Africa in World Cup qualifier: coach  • Barca look to move closer to Champions League last 16  • Marquez asks for calm ahead of decisive Valencia Moto GP  • China's naval hospital ship calls at U.S. port  • Greater transparency called for in UN General Assembly chief's role in light of scandal  
You are here: 　 Home/ Poverty Reduction and Disaster Relief/ Disaster Relief

Russia to continue search of air disaster victims

CRI, November 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Floral tributes are placed outside the Russian embassy in Cairo on Nov. 2, 2015. Some 144 victims' bodies in a Russian airliner crash in Egypt were transferred to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg early on Monday, the Russian ambassador in Cairo said. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

Floral tributes are placed outside the Russian embassy in Cairo on Nov. 2, 2015. Some 144 victims' bodies in a Russian airliner crash in Egypt were transferred to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg early on Monday, the Russian ambassador in Cairo said. [Xinhua]

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has pledged that it will continue to search for victims of the plane which crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

At a meeting in the Emergency Situations Ministry on Monday, Alexey Smirnov, Acting Head of the National Centre for Crisis Management, explained the details about the rescue operation's next moves.

"The third stage of the rescue operation is planned for tomorrow. The search area will be expanded to 30 square kilometres. And I ask for plans to be presented to the national centre before midnight. French experts from Airbus will proceed with work on the crash site, as well as representatives of the Interstate Aviation Committee and Egypt's aviation authorities."

Discussing the cause of the tragedy, many analysts believe that an external factor could have caused the air disaster, such as a purely mechanical or physical action.

But Russian aviation authorities said it was premature to comment on the possible cause, and said the conclusions can be drawn only after the fragments and contents of the black boxes have been studied.

The plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders have both been recovered from the crash site.

Talking about comments saying that the Islamic Group may hit the plane down, Gerald Feldzer, a Paris-based aviation expert, denied that explanation, saying the IS group has neither the equipment nor skills to bring down an airliner.

Gerald, however, also suggests that it is "absolutely a possibility" that a bomb was smuggled into the hold of the plane.

"One thing is sure: If such a violent and sudden accident occurred, it might have been due to an engine explosion that could have set fire to the wing and led to the loss of control of the plane, which would have spun into a nosedive. Or, it also could have lost a part of its rudder. We can imagine this scenario but we can also imagine that the pilot in this situation would have sent a mayday distress signal since he was in contact with the control tower."

Meantime, relatives of victims continue to arrive at a crematorium in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, with more bodies of the victims are expected to arrive in the city.

Officials say 130 bodies and 40 body parts arrived earlier, and latest reports show that 4 bodies have been identified so far.

Saturday's crash killed all 224 people aboard the plane, which was headed from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.