Egyptians checking fuel pumped into Russian plane’s tanks, food providers

CAIRO, November 3. /TASS/. Checks are in progress at the airport of Sharm el-Sheikh of the fuel pumped into the tanks of the Russian passenger jet that crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, a spokesman for Misr Petroleum, one of Egypt’s largest oil corporations, told TASS on Tuesday.

"The Misr Petroleum tank truck, which brought the kerosene to the plane, is currently at the airport, it is sealed," the spokesman said. "Experts from BP (British Petroleum) will take samples of aviation fuel to determine its quality and check it for the presence of likely impurities."

According to him, representative of the company that provided food for the passengers and crew members are being interrogated. "Now a driver and employees who brought meals for the passengers of flight 9268 (Sharm el-Sheikh — St.Petersburg) in the morning on October 31 are being interrogated," he said.

An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 some 30 minutes after the takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.

It fell down 100 kilometers south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. There were four Ukrainian and one Belarusian nationals among the passengers. None of them survived.