By Asbarez | Tuesday, 03 November 2015
MOSCOW—While Armenia’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday that there were no Armenian citizens aboard the ill-fated Metrojet flight 9268, which crashed shortly after takeoff in the Egyptian city Sham el-Sheikh Saturday, there are reports that two Armenians, who are Russian citizens were on board the plane.
All 224 passengers were killed, among them seven crew members.
The two were identified as Leonid Mnatsakanov, a 39-year-old native of Russia’s Volgograd region, and Armen Vishnev, a 27-year-old resident of St. Petersburg.
President Serzh Sarkisian sent condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on October 31. Other Armenian officials also offered their condolences to their counterparts in Russia on the tragedy.
CNN reported Tuesday that new information suggests a midair flash — possibly an explosion — was detected on Metrojet Flight 9268 before it crashed in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
A midair heat flash from the Russian airliner was detected by a U.S. military satellite before the plane crashed Saturday, the official told CNN.
Intelligence analysis has ruled out that the Russian commercial airplane was struck by a missile, but the new information suggests that there was a catastrophic in-flight event — including possibly a bomb, though experts are considering other explanations, according to U.S. officials.
comments
Azerbaijan Blocks Humanitarian Transport To and From Lachin Corridor
#TogetherForSyria Telethon Raises over $110,000 for Armenians In Syria
After Lachin Corridor Blockade, Putin Speaks to Pashinyan and Aliyev
Aliyev Signs Order Declaring Shushi Cultural Capital of Turkic World
Lemkin Institute Voices Support For Artsakh Rights to Self-Determination to Avoid Genocide
Tensions Escalate Between Iran and Azerbaijan
Moscow is Closely Coordinating Peace Treaty with Yerevan and Baku
Aliyev Criticism of Russian Peacekeepers and Iran Elicits Strong Reactions
Putin Says Yerevan Rejected His Plan to Cede Less Territory in Artsakh