Russia on Sunday mourned its biggest ever air disaster after a passenger jet full of Russian tourists crashed in Egypt’s Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.
Flags were at half mast on the parliament building, in the Kremlin, and on other official buildings in honour of the victims, most of whom were from Russia’s second-largest city of Saint Petersburg.
Russia’s state-owned rolling news channel Rossiya 24 periodically interrupted coverage with moments of silence and flashed photos of smiling crash victims apparently taken on their vacations and posted on social networks.
Some people had been on their first foreign holiday, some had never flown before, and one couple was on their honeymoon, the channel said. locals in Saint Petersburg brought flowers and cuddy toys to a makeshift memorial in the arrivals area of the city’s Pulkovo airport.
Several children, including a 10-month-old baby, perished in the crash, the cause of which is still unclear.
Russian investigators searched the offices of Kogalymavia airline and the country’s transportation watchdog said it will continue checking it until
November 30, but the charter carrier was still operating services on Sunday.
Kogalymavia’s representatives on Saturday evening said the pilot flying the Airbus 321 was very experienced, while authorities at the last fuel stop said there had not been any red flags.