Russia confirms holiday flight was blown up
Russia’s security chief has confirmed that a holiday flight that crashed in Egypt was brought down by a bomb.
Metrojet flight 9268 was blown out of the sky above north Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. They had been travelling home to St Petersburg from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov confimed traces of explosives had been found in the wreckage of the Russian A321 plane.
He said it had been blown apart by a home-made bomb, using 1.5 kilos of TNT.
Although the UK Government announced two weeks ago that it was highly likely the crash was due to an act of terror, leading it to repatriate all UK holidaymakers from Sharm el-Sheikh under tightened security, this is the first time the Russians have confirmed there was a bomb onboard.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin vowed to ‘find and punish’ those responsible for the attack. An Islamic State affiliate has said they were behind the bombing,.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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