A Russian airliner carrying 224 people crashed on Saturday in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian prime minister's office said.
The plane, carrying 217 passengers along with seven crew members, vanished from radar after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg, Egypt's state-run MENA reported.
The Airbus A-321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, took off at 5:51 a.m. (0751 GMT) and disappeared from radar after 23 minutes of taking off, the report said.
Most of the passengers are Russian nationals, the report added.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sherif Ismail has ordered the formation of emergency operation room to investigate the crash.
