An Egyptian charter plane with 135 passengers and six crew members on board crashed into the Red Sea early Saturday, shortly after take off from the coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the civil aviation authority in Egypt said.
The plane, a Boeing 737 belonging to private Egyptian company Flash Air, had 129 French tourists on board and six Egyptian passengers, the authority said.
The authority added in a statement that the plane was heading to Cairo but the Egyptian official television said it was bound to France.
Pieces of wreckage from the plane were found in the sea about 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Sharm el-Sheikh, the authority said.
The plane disappeared from the radar screens of Cairo airport at 4:44 am (0244 GMT), minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport, it said.
”Efforts are deployed to recover the victims, the number of the victims or the injured is not yet known,” said the statement.
According to pro-government newspaper Al-Ahram, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was scheduled to go to Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is holidaying there. – Sapa-AFP