MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry expands the search area at the site of the A321 jet crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said.
"We completed a survey of the territory on the area of more than 20 square kilometers. The search area will be expanded to 30 square kilometers," he told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
"Personal belongings have been delivered from the disaster area. We are updating plans and programs of future work and continue to perform all necessary actions until we complete the search," Puchkov said.
- A321 black boxes to be decoded in Egypt or in France — aviation authority
- Media: Egypt Air’s contract on maintenance of Kogalymavia aircraft expired 3 months ago
- Putin demands thorough investigation of Flight 9268 crash in Egypt
- Flight 9268 air carrier blames A321 crash in Egypt on midair mechanical impact
- No possible causes of air crash in Egypt should be ruled out — Kremlin
Rescuers are using drones to search for the bodies of the Russian A321 crash victims in northern Sinai, Vladimir Puchkov went on to say.
"Rescuers are working in difficult conditions of hot weather in a desert terrain. That is why we are using all our potential, namely special searchers, unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian make and all state-of-the-art technologies that facilitate work in difficult conditions," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
According to the Russian Emergencies Minister, search at the scene of the crash will continue until all fragments of the bodies are found.
"We will continue the search operation as long as it will be needed, until all the dead are found, flown home and until we complete all procedural matters connected with the probe into this tragedy," he promised.
The head of Rosaviatsia aviation authority, Alexander Neradko, said rescuers were currently lifting major fragments of the plane to make sure there were no bodies under them.