Egyptian rescue teams found the wreckage of the crashed Russian airplane near Al-Hassana, 35 km south of the coastal city of Al-Arish after a delay caused by bad weather conditions, according to a statement by the Ministry of Aviation.
Egyptian state newspaper Al-Ahram quoted pilot Ayman Al-Mokaddem, who heads the committee to investigate the accident, as saying the Russian aircraft pilot sensed a technical failure and reported it to the aviation authorities, who requested that he land at the nearest airport.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti said the aircraft had witnessed engine technical problems this week.
The Egyptian cabinet announced that all the bodies will be transported to Cairo, and 50 ambulances were directed to the crash site to assist in transporting the bodies.
Egypt has denied that the plane could have been shot by militants in Sinai, as reported by TASS Russian news agency.
Russian authorities formed a crisis committee to address the incident, in collaboration with the Egyptian cabinet.
Saturday morning the Russian airplane with 217 tourists on board crashed in central Sinai.
The Airbus A-321 plane had taken off from Sharm El-Sheikh on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg before disappearing from the radars of Egyptian aviation officials.
The plane is operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia.
By Ahmed Abbas
