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French media report black boxes of downed Russian jet 'recorded blast'

Citing sources close to the investigation, media say flight recorders reveal a loud sound before a 'sudden end' to plane's course above Egypt.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French media report that the black box recorders found in the wreckage of a Russian passenger jet show that a bomb brought down the plane over Egypt last week, killing all 224 on board, reports Voice of America.

France 2 television channel and the French news agency AFP cite sources close to the investigation.

The AFP source says according to investigators, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder show everything was normal aboard the Russian Metrojet.

Then 24 minutes into the flight, "suddenly there was nothing" with one of the boxes registering a loud sound and a "violent, sudden end," strongly indicating that a bomb went off.

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have both said it is certainly possible the plane was bombed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the bomb theory nothing but speculation.

But Putin on Friday suspended all Russian commercial flights to Egypt, heeding the recommendation of his security chief Alexander Bortnikov "until we have determined the true reasons" for the crash.

Putin has also ordered the government to work out details of how to bring as many as 40,000 Russians vacationing in Sharm el-Sheikh back home.

The jet packed with Russian tourists took off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh last Saturday, headed for St. Petersburg.

A US official has said intercepted communications point to Islamic State and that someone inside the Sharm el-Sheikh airport helped plant the bomb.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for blowing up the plane, but has not given any proof.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi dismissed Islamic State's claim as propaganda aimed at damaging Egyptian and security and its tourist industry which is vital to the economy.

Read more of this report from Voice of America.