Mostly
French Onboard Egyptian Crashed Plane
MOSCOW,
January 3rd, 2004 (RIA Novosti) –
The
aircraft with chiefly French tourists onboard fell into the Red
Sea near the Egyptian resort Sharm-el-Sheikh in Sinai on Saturday
morning, reported the Egyptian MENA agency. The aircraft, Boeing
737, operated by the Egyptian private Flash Airlines was making
a charter flight from Sharm-el-Sheikh to Cairo. A few minutes
after the takeoff the plane disappeared from radar screens.
"At present
the Egyptian side is specifying the citizenship of the passengers,"
Yakovenko added.
"It is
now clear that the majority of passengers were French, plus there
were some Egyptians onboard the jet too," said Yakovenko.
Meanwhile,
the Civil Aviation Ministry of Egypt has quoted the MENA agency
that there were 148 people onboard the crashed Boeing-737, including
135 passengers, six crewmembers, and seven members of the Italian
crew who piloted the plane on the way from Milan (Italy) to Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Putin
Condoles With Egyptian President Over Air Crash
MOSCOW, January 3rd, 2003 (RIA Novosti correspondent)
– Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram of condolences
to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in view of the crash of an
Egyptian passenger jet into the Red Sea, which left many people
dead, the press service of the Russian president reported.
"Accept
my deepest condolences in view of the tragic air crash. I want
to express my sincerest compassion to the near and dear of the
victims," the telegram runs.