There are no survivors from a Russian plane with 224 on board that crashed in a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai, Egyptian authorities said Saturday, as search and recovery teams investigated the wreckage.
Reuters reported that the "black box" data recorder has been found.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Airbus A-321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, also known as Metrojet, 23 minutes after it took off from the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh just before 6 a.m. local time. It was headed to St. Petersburg.
Of the 217 passengers, there were 214 Russians and three Ukrainians, including 138 women, 62 men and 17 children, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said. There were seven crew members on board.
The passengers were likely all tourists. Around 3 million Russian tourists travel to Egypt every year, and in 2014 they made up nearly a third of all tourists to Egypt, the Associated Press said.
Egypt found the wreckage of the plane in the Hassana area, south of Arish, Sinai, the BBC said.
The cause of the crash hasn't been confirmed. Ayman Al-Mokadem, a pilot who is heading a committee to monitor the crash's aftermath, said the crash was due to a "technical failure,"according to Egyptian state news agency Al-Ahram.
A BBC correspondent in Egypt said there would likely be speculation that militants were involved in the incident. They quoted a source as saying the plane was flying at an altitude that it couldn't be struck by something from the ground. The plane was flying at 31,000 feet when contact was lost. Insurgents who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State are active on the Sinai Peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the formation of a state commission to investigate the crash and set up a hotline for relatives of the passengers. Putin also declared Nov. 1 a day of mourning for the victims.
There were conflicting reports about the plane earlier in the day. After contact was lost with the plane, Russia had said it had passed safely through Turkish airspace after losing contact with Egypt.
Metrojet is a small Russian airline that mostly operates charter flights for tourism. According to a translation of its website, the airline Kolavia was rebranded as Metrojet in May 2012. Its fleet consists of several Airbus A320s and A321s. There has been no comment from the airline.
Russian aviation has suffered as the economy enters recession. Foreign carriers have been canceling unprofitable routes, diminishing Russia's connections by air to the rest of the world. Russia's second-largest airline, Transaero, is being shut down because the Ministry of Transport is concerned that its dire financial situation will become a threat to passenger safety.
The Associated Press contributed some reporting.
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UPDATES
9:20 a.m. GMT: Crash location added.
9:30 a.m. GMT: Russia ministry info added.
9:42 a.m GMT: Info from BBC correspondent added.
10:00 a.m. GMT: Airline info added.
10:55 a.m. GMT: Added info on possible technical failure.
11:20 a.m. GMT: Russia statement, black box recovery added.
12:20 p.m. GMT: Statement on survivors added.
1:40 p.m. GMT: Background on airlines added.
2:20 p.m.: Passenger numbers added.
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