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Forty forensic specialists to identify victims of Flight 9268 crash — health ministry

Five ambulance brigades are working in St. Petersburg at the site where identification procedures will take place

ST. PETERSBURG, November 2. /TASS/. Forty forensic scientists will identify the victims of the Russian Kogalymavia plane that crashed in Egypt on October 31 in North Sinai, First Deputy Health Ministry Igor Kagramanyan told journalists on Monday.

"Forty forensic scientists are working in St. Petersburg," Kagramanyan said.

Five ambulance brigades are working at the site where identification procedures will take place, he added. The brigades include doctors, nurses and psychologists.

St. Petersburg Deputy Governor Igor Albin said earlier that relatives of the victims will start identification procedures at around 11am Moscow time.

Russian Kogalymavia’s A321 plane en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 around 30 minutes after takeoff in North Sinai, 100 kilometers to the south of Al-Arish. Flight 9268 carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers. Egyptian authorities said no one survived in the crash. Most passengers were Russian nationals. Among the people onboard were also four Ukrainian citizens and one Belarusian national.