President Putin reiterates condolences to relatives of A321 aircraft crash

NOVO-OGAYROVO, November 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences once again to friends and relatives of victims, who were killed in Russian passenger plane’s crash last Saturday in Egypt. "I would like to once again express my condolences to friends and relatives of the victims," Putin said at a meeting with Russian Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov, who is heading the state commission on the investigation into the cause of plane’s crash. "This is an enormous tragedy," the Russian president said. "We are together with you with our hearts and souls." "In times of such tragedies and such hours, it is certainly very important to feel a shoulder of close ones and how the whole country empathizes over this horrible catastrophe," Putin added. 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. Flight 9268 carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers. Egyptian authorities said no one survived in the crash. 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 will last till November 3. Read more