A charter airliner with 148 people aboard - most of them French tourists - crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff early Saturday from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to airport officials in Cairo. No survivors were immediately found, The AP reported.
The Boeing 737 jet took off shortly before 5 a.m. and quickly disappeared from radar about 11 kilometers south of the airport, airport officials said. According to them, the plane made no distress call.
They added 135 passengers and 13 crew members were aboard the jet operated by the private Egyptian company Air Flash en route to Cairo, and most were French tourists.
Rescue teams rushed to the scene but found no survivors.
A statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation called the crash an "accident" and said crews were searching for the wreckage. (Albawaba.com)
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