Russian plane crashes in Sinai, reportedly killing all 224 people on board

The Russian airline Kogalymavias Airbus A-321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ on an airstrip of Moscow's Domodedovo international airport, outside Moscow, Russia.

A Russian passenger airliner crashed early Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula, with 224 people aboard, officials said.

All passengers were killed, the Russian Embassy in Cairo said on Twitter.

Russian state media reported that many of the 217 passengers were Russians returning from vacation. The passengers were reported to include 17 children. There were seven crew members.

The plane had departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Here's what we are learning as the day wears on:

quoting medical sources, reports that 100 intact bodies have been recovered and are being prepared for transfer to a morgue in Cairo, but other bodies are in pieces. The recovery of 100 bodies this quickly from a smoldering wreck seems highly unlikely, however,

• Bodies of plane crash victims are being recovered from the crash site, the Russian Embassy in Cairo says on its official Twitter account.

• An Egyptian investigation team has reached the crash site of the crashed jet in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, state-run Nile TV reports, citing the minister of civil aviation.

• Airbus, the plane's maker, issues a statement on Twitter: "We are aware of the media reports," the tweet reads. "Efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We'll provide more information as soon as available."

Oct. 31, 2015: Relatives react after a Russian airliner with 217 passengers and seven crew aboard crashed, as people gather at Russian airline Kogalymavia’s information desk at Pulkovo airport in St.Petersburg, Russia.

Plane was at 31,000 feet when contact was lost

• The crash site is in the northern part of Sinai, near a town called Housna -- 300 kilometers (185 miles) from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian Prime Minister's office says Egyptian air force planes have spotted the crash site from the air, officials say.

• Two-hundred twenty-four people were reported to be aboard, including 217 passengers and seven crew members. The passengers include d17 children. The Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its embassy in Egypt is working to determine whether Belarusians were on board.

• The airliner was on its way from Sharm el-Sheikh, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, to St. Petersburg, according to Sputnik International, an official Russian news agency.

• Egyptian air traffic control says it lost contact with the airliner 23 minutes after takeoff, Sputnik reports. Many of the passengers are reported to be Russians returning from vacations. The plane disappeared at 6:20 a.m. local time.

• The plane was flying at 31,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens, the Egyptian civil aviation ministry says.

• The plane, Kogalymavia Flight 9268, was an Airbus 321, Russian state media report. The airline is commonly known as Metrojet.

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