Several working groups, including of the Russian Embassy in Cairo, the Emergencies Ministry and the Russian Federal Tourism Agency (Rostourism), were sent to the airports of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada to help Russian tourists return to their homeland, a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
“Joint working groups of the Russian Embassy in Cairo, Emergencies Ministry and Rostourism are sent to Egyptian airports of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh to assist the Russian tourists returning home,” the statement said.
On November 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov’s recommendation to suspend passenger flights to Egypt while the inquiry into the A321 crash in Sinai is ongoing, Sputnik reported.
Russia has returned 11,000 Russians tourists from Egypt in the last 24 hours, RIA Novosti reported.
Meanwhile, the Russian A321’s black box recorded an unclear noise before crashing in Sinai, the head of Egypt’s investigation committee has confirmed. However, spectral analysis is required to determine its nature.
The head of the Investigations Committee, Captain Ayman Mokadem, said the nature of debris scatter suggests an in-flight breakup, but it is still too early to draw conclusions on the causes of the crash. While both flight data recorders have been found, the investigators are still studying them.
Mokadem confirmed that some “noise” can be heard on the recording right before the crash. He still said its nature is unclear and a spectral analysis will be carried out to identify it.
An international team of investigators are at the scene still “collecting information,” he said.
According to the flight data recorders, the incident occurred 23 minutes and 14 seconds after takeoff at an altitude of 30,888 feet in climbing mode, at a speed of 281 knots-autopilot engaged, he said.
