Off the wire
• Widodo to skip APEC summit, Putin's absence unconfirmed  • Loew with lots on his mind: Problems at home, tempting atmosphere ahead  • Table tennis women's singles world rankings  • Uganda short of disaster relief funds as El Nino rains take toll  • South Sudan rivals exchange fresh accusations on ceasefire violation  • Spanish couple sentenced to 18 years for murdering adopted Chinese daughter  • Italian authorities issue 17 arrest warrants in anti-terror operation across Europe  • El Nino worsens food security in East Africa: UN  • Table tennis men's singles world rankings  • Nigerians expect changes as president forms cabinet  
You are here: 　 Home

Nearly half of Russians believe terrorism behind airliner crash in Egypt: poll

Xinhua, November 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Forty-three percent of Russians believe that the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt on Oct. 31 was the result of a terrorist attack, while 35 percent attribute it to a technical problem, a Russian state pollster said Thursday.

The poll was conducted with 1,600 respondents in 130 localities of 46 regions across the country from Nov. 7 to 9, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) said. Results of the poll were released on its official website.

"The terrorist attack version has not yet become dominant when the poll was held, but the respondents were already inclined to prioritize it," VTsIOM Communications Director Alexei Firsov said.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of the respondents expected no changes in the country's life after the disaster, while 41 percent believed there would be "certain consequences," of which 25 percent suggested "very serious" ones.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents believed the authorities should improve aviation safety, with 32 percent expecting them to toughen anti-terrorism measures and 28 percent supporting a suspension of flights above war zones, the poll showed.

The Russia-bound A321 passenger jet crashed shortly after take-off from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people onboard, mostly Russians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the suspension of all of his country's flights to Egypt amid rising speculation that terrorist attacks were possibly behind the tragedy.

An Egypt-led team of experts from Russia and France is investigating the cause of the plane crash. Endi