The Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula broke into pieces in midair, but it is too early to determine the cause of the crash, Russia's state-run media quoted an aviation official as saying.
"Disintegration of the fuselage took place in the air, and the fragments are scattered around a large area (about 20 square kilometers)," Viktor Sorochenko, executive director of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, told journalists, according to reports.
The remains of Russian tourists killed in a passenger jet crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are expected to start arriving back in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday as questions swirl over what caused the disaster.
All 224 people aboard Kogalymavia Flight 9268 died in the crash Saturday morning that left debris strewn across a remote area of a region plagued by a violent Islamic insurgency.
