The British government said it was suspending flights Wednesday from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to the U.K., saying the Russian jet that crashed Saturday may have been brought down by an “explosive device.”
The Airbus A321 jetliner, which was operated by Russian carrier Kogalymavia, crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The remarks by the U.K. appear to be the first time a government has suggested publicly that the cause of the crash could have been a bomb.
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said it can’t categorically say why the Russian jet crashed because the investigation is continuing. “But as more information has come to light, we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device,” Downing Street said in a statement.
As a result, the government was delaying flights due to leave from Sharm el-Sheikh airport for the U.K. on Wednesday as a “precautionary step” while a U.K. team of aviation experts assessed security arrangements at the airport. It said it expected that assessment to be complete later Wednesday. It added the U.K. government hadn’t changed its travel advice “at this stage” and isn’t advising against travel to Sharm el-Sheik.
“There are legitimate, serious concerns that come from intelligence,” a U.K. government official said. “That’s not saying it definitely was a terrorist act, but there are sufficient concerns, and we want to minimize potential threats as much as possible.” Another government official said the decision to delay the flights was taken after more information had come to light.
“It’s not a decision we would take lightly,” a U.K. government official said of the Downing Street statement. She said the statement was based on the government’s latest assessment of a range of information.
The prime minister was due to chair a meeting of top government and security officials later Wednesday to review the situation and provide an update after, his office said.
A spokesman for Egypt’s ministry of aviation declined to comment on the move by the U.K. and referred questions to the ministry of foreign affairs, which didn’t immediately return a call and a text message seeking comment.
Mr. Cameron had called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Tuesday evening to discuss what measures the Egyptians are taking to ensure security arrangements at Sharm el-Sheikh, Downing Street said. As part of a prearranged visit to the U.K., Mr. Sisi is due to meet with Mr. Cameron on Thursday.
The U.K. government said Wednesday that it was working closely with the airlines on its approach.
Several carriers, including Emirates Airline, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM, on Saturday rerouted planes away from Sinai in the wake of the crash as a precautionary measure. British Airways, which had continued flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, on Wednesday said it was “liaising closely with the government” and awaiting more information. The next flight to the Egyptian beach resort is scheduled for Thursday.
European discount airline easyJet said it had delayed two flights due for departure to Sharm el-Sheikh late Wednesday following the British government’s alert. The flights were due to depart London’s Gatwick and Luton airports.
The cause of the crash has been wrapped in confusion.The Egyptian affiliate of Islamic State twice has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, claims that have been met with deep skepticism by Egyptian, Russian and U.S. officials. The affiliate issued its most recent claim Wednesday and said it would reveal further details of their involvement in due course.
The new audio claim, released on social media by Sinai Province group, was carefully worded, with the speaker not saying explicitly how the airplane crashed. Instead, the male voice repeatedly said Sinai Province had “taken down” the jet and challenged the international team of investigators to provide contrary evidence.
The audio recording couldn’t be independently verified but contained the logo of Sinai Province when it appeared on social media.
Sinai Province, which is active in the north Sinai region where the Russian-operated Kogalymavia flight went down, claimed hours later that it had targeted the jet in retaliation for Russia’s intervention to bolster the Shiite-linked regime in Syria.
Many military analysts and terrorism researchers have said Sinai Province doesn’t possess the sophisticated weaponry to strike a jet cruising at high altitude—but their ability to sabotage an airplane remains unclear.
Egypt is leading the probe into the cause, supported by a team of international investigators. On Tuesday, the team began analyzing the two black boxes retrieved from the crash site, and preliminary information suggests the pilots didn’t have advance warning of the impending disaster.
The international team probing the crash said Wednesday that the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder was partially damaged and would require “a lot of work” to extract audio from, underscoring the challenges that investigators face to find the cause of the tragedy. Investigators typically can extract useful information even from damaged recorders.
In a statement, the team probing the crash said the plane’s flight data recorder has been “extracted and validated” and would be analyzed by investigators while examination of the aircraft parts at the crash site continues.
The data suggests there was no discussion of a mechanical or system problem before the plane began rapidly descending from about 33,000 feet, breaking off into sections as it plummeted about 30 minutes into flight.
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By NICHOLAS WINNINGAnd JENNY GROSS—Robert Wall contributed to this article.http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-says-explosive-device-may-have-brought-down-russian-jet-in-egypt-1446659099
Photo: A handout picture released by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry shows Russian emergency services personnel and Egyptian servicemen working at the crash site of an Airbus A321 Russian airliner in a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES