'Explosive Device' May Have Brought Down Russian Airliner, UK Says

By Bill Chappell / NPR

Published November 4, 2015 at 8:01 AM PST

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

Debris from a Russian airliner is at the site of the crash in a mountainous area in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Citing new information, Britain's government says it is concerned that a bomb might have brought the plane down.

Britain has halted flights from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to the U.K., citing new information that has emerged since Saturday's crash of a Russian airliner carrying 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

A spokesperson for 10 Downing Street says they're "concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device."

Prime Minister David Cameron "will chair a meeting of the Cobra Emergency Committee at 6:45 p.m. (local time) to review the situation," reports NPR's Leila Fadel.

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A team of British aviation experts is now on its way to Egypt, to evaluate security arrangements at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport. The spokesperson added that all of the actions were "precautionary."

We'll update this post with news as it comes out.

The comments from Britain's leadership are the latest to portray the Metrojet Airbus A321 crash in a new light. Here's a rundown of how the descriptions of the crash have changed since Saturday morning:

Egyptian officials reported seeing the plane split into two, with a small section and a larger one;
The ISIS affiliate in the Sinai claimed responsibility for causing the crash;
Russia's Transport minister says that claim can't be "considered reliable" — a view other experts shared with NPR;
Noting that the crash site is larger than original reports suggested, Russian's top aviation official said Sunday that it suggests the jet disintegrated while it was at a high altitude.

With the investigation of the crash ongoing, both Air France and Lufthansa said they would be routing their airplanes around the Sinai Peninsula.