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U.S. infrared satellite detected a heat flash over Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula at the time when a Russian plane crashed on Saturday, killing
all 224 people on board, CBS News reported Tuesday.
Satellite data was still being analyzed, and it is
unclear whether the flash was due to a bomb or an explosion in the
aircraft's fuel tank or engine due to mechanical failure, the report
said.
The cause of Saturday's plane crash, the deadliest
in Russian history, is still a mystery. Investigators are examining
wreckage in the Sinai and the plane's black boxes after the aircraft
crashed from high altitude less than 30 minutes after takeoff.
Russian officials had immediately after the disaster
dismissed claims by the Islamic State terrorist organization that it had
downed the plane in revenge for Russian air strikes against rebels in
Syria, but investigators have not ruled out that a terrorist attack was
to blame.
The RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday cited an
unidentified Egyptian source as saying no trace of explosives had yet
been discovered on the wreckage.
Other sources told the TASS news agency that material that did not belong to the downed plane had been found at the crash site.
The company that flew the jet, Kogalymavia, on Monday ruled
out pilot error or mechanical failure as causes of the crash and blamed
a “mechanical impact on the aircraft.” But Russian officials quickly
cautioned that the conclusions were premature.
Three Kogalymavia aircraft have been involved in accidents since 2010, two of which were fatal.
Source: THEMOSCOWTIMES
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