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Egyptian minister says no request for urgent landing from crew of disaster Russian jet

Earlier reports said the captain of the A321, which was carrying 217 passengers and seven crewmembers aboard, had requested a landing at a nearby airport

CAIRO, October 31. /TASS/. Communications with the A321 jet of the Russian airline Kogalymavia, which crashed in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday en route from Sharm al-Sheikh to St Petersburg, continued unabated until the moment of its crash and the cockpit crew did not make any requests for an emergency landing, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossan Kamal told reporters.

"Communications with the jet were maintained in the normal mode and the captain didn't send any signals that an emergency landing might be needed," he said. "Then the plane simply disappeared from radar screens."

Earlier reports said the captain of the A321, which was carrying 217 passengers and seven crewmembers aboard, had requested a landing at a nearby airport.