World News for Students of English

05-11-2015 07:00

A Russian airliner has crashed in Egypt, central Sinai, with 224 people on board. The passenger jet was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The airbus lost contact with air traffic control about 25 minutes after take-off. The plane then disappeared from radar screens as it travelled at 31,000 feet (9.4 kilometres).The Egyptian Prime Minister’s office confirmed that it crashed early this morning, stating it was “too soon to determine the cause”.

“There is an operations team from the Civil Aviation’s Ministry going now to the site of the location of the accident to start an investigation into it and all the details. There has been coordination with the Russian side and there has been communication. An operations team will be going there to begin the investigation, and of course there is communication with the Russian Ambassador with regards to this.”

Wreckage of the plane was found in the Hassana area. Egyptian officials say all the passengers were Russian, 17 of them children.

Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims’ families. The Russian President has ordered an official investigation into the crash.

Difficult words: bound (going to), determine (to find out), aviation (relating to flying and aircraft), site (place).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com