In a statement issued by Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail’s office, it was claimed that the plane, which had taken-off at approximately 5:51 am, crashed in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. It was added that Ismail will be holding a special cabinet meeting to deal with the crisis. It was further noted that the plane was at a height of 31 thousand feet and that it lost height shortly before disappearing from the radar. Nonetheless, contradicting reports have appeared since morning from different aviation officials in Egypt and in Russia regarding the crash.

Reuters reported that rescue teams that arrived at the crash site found debris of the plane, which had crashed in a mountainous area. According to an Egyptian security official that had arrived at the scene, the chances of finding any survivors are slim.

The airliner in question is an A-321 Airbus with 212 passengers on board, most of them Russian, and 7 crew members. Security officials in Egypt ruled out the possibility of a security incident causing the plane to crash. The IDF reported that they assisted the Egyptians by sending surveillance aircrafts to the area.