Flags were flying at half-mast on official buildings in Moscow on Sunday (November 1) as Russia mourned the Egypt plane crash victims.
The Russian airliner, with 224 on board, crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Saturday (October 31) shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all occupants.
Muscovites flocked to Sunday church services and lit candles, as priests remembered the victims in prayer.
“What can I say? It is really a catastrophe, such a shame, it is so horrible, people wanted to rejoice and it ended this way. What should we do, we need to live on. I hope that God will accept those who were in the plane for their suffering,” said Tatyana, hurrying to church.
People in the street said they felt a part of the tragedy and hoped it is not a terrorist attack.
“That is very tragic, because it always happens unexpectedly, this can happen to anyone. That is why you grieve together with the families (of the killed),” said Natalia, who lives in Moscow.
“I really would not like it to be a strike in reply, I hope it is just an accident,” said Vladimir.
The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.
A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement it had brought down the plane “in response to Russian air strips that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land”, but Russia’s Transport Minister told Interfax news agency the claim “can’t be considered accurate”.
Both black boxes of the plane had been found, Mohamed Hossam Kemal, the Egyptian civil aviation minister, told a news conference.
Putin declared a day of national mourning for Sunday. The passengers included 214 Russians and three Ukrainians. (Reuters)
