Russia: St. Petersburg official urges end to 'speculation' over A321 crash

The Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) and St. Petersburg government officials held a press briefing in St. Petersburg, Tuesday, following the Sinai plane crash on Saturday in which 224 people died. Igor Albin, the vice-governor of St. Petersburg, from where a significant number of victims were resident, said that so far "the relatives have identified 19 victims." Albin added that "the identification procedure is ongoing," with most of the materials from the crash site being sent "to the federal forensic centre." "We are continuing to work with 105 families, it's not just systematic, in some cases our specialists are providing help 24 hours a day," stated Alexander Rzhanenkov, the chairman of the Committee on Social Policy of the Government of St. Petersburg. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown, with investigations in Sinai ongoing. In the lack of a clear cause for the tragedy some media sources have been "publishing information that promotes speculation," according to Vyacheslav Makarov, the chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg. "All the speculations only stir-up people and stir-up the relatives, please be sensitive," urged Makarov. Kogalymavia (Metrojet) flight 7K9268 crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula around 23 minutes after take-off on Saturday, killing everyone on board. The passenger plane was heading to St. Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh when it broke up in the air. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered over a vast area of the Sinai Peninsula. There were a total of 224 people on board the Russian commercial plane - 217 passengers, including 25 children, and seven crew members. Reports indicate that all but five passengers - four Ukrainians and one Belarusian - were Russian.