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Egypt denies detention of airport staff in connection with Russian jet crash

Reuters earlier quoted airport officials as saying 17 people were being held, two of whom are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane
Sharm al-Sheikh international airport AP Photo/Ahmed Abd El-Latif
Sharm al-Sheikh international airport
© AP Photo/Ahmed Abd El-Latif

CAIRO, November 17. /TASS/. The Egyptian Interior Ministry on Tuesday denied media reports of the detention of two employees of Sharm al-Sheikh international airport in connection with the October 31 crash of the Russian passenger jet on the Sinai Peninsula.

"This information is not true," the ministry said commenting on earlier Reuters report citing Egyptian security officials.

"Seventeen people are being held, two of them are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane at Sharm al-Sheikh airport," Reuters quoted the officials as saying.

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. None of the carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers survived in the crash.