Bodies of Egypt plane crash victims flown back to Russia

The bodies of some of the victims of the passenger plane that crashed in Egypt killing everyone on board have been flown back to Russia.

There were 224 people on board the Metrojet Airbus A321-200 which crashed on Saturday morning in the Sinai Peninsula, and the vast majority of them were Russian.

This morning, a plane from the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations landed in St Petersburg carrying some of the bodies.

The ministry plane brought the bodies of 144 passengers to St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

Russian news agencies say the government will be dispatching a second plane to bring back more remains later today.

The Airbus A321-200 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh en route to St Petersburg.

Russia’s most senior aviation official has said that it broke up at high altitude.

The ministry has sent more than 100 rescue experts to assist the Egyptian authorities in the search for bodies and debris of the plane.

An outpouring of grief has gripped St Petersburg, home of many of the victims, and President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide day of mourning.