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Russia’s chief investigator holds expert talks at Cairo airport on airliner’s crash

Bastrykin, who is accompanied by a group of investigators from his committee, is currently holding a session with representatives from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), medics and other experts

CAIRO, November 3. /TASS/. Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, arrived on Tuesday at the Cairo Airport in Egypt, where he has started a session of expert talks regarding Saturday’s fatal crash of the Russian passenger aircraft.

Bastrykin, who is accompanied by a group of investigators from his committee, is currently holding a session with representatives from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), medics and other experts.

According to a TASS correspondent, Bastrykin is scheduled to head to the Egyptian Prosecutor General’s Office straight from the airport and on November 4 he had planned to visit the site of the tragic crash, which saw 224 people killed.

Russian Kogalymavia’s A321 plane, en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed on the early morning of October 31 little over 20 minutes after its takeoff. The disaster site is 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish.

Flight 9268 carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers and they were all officially pronounced dead following the tragic accident. Most passengers were Russian nationals. Among the people onboard were also four Ukrainian citizens and one Belarusian national.

November 1 was declared a day of mourning in Russia. In Saint Petersburg mourning and memorial events to pay homage to those who died in the plane crash in Egypt were announced to last until November 3.