A Russian passenger plane with more than 200 people on board has crashed in central Sinai, Egypt.

The Airbus A-321, which belongs to the airline Kogalymavia, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh and was due to land in St Petersburg, Russia. The Egyptian Prime Minister has confirmed the crash and formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

(Flighttracker)

The aviation ministry said the plane went down in a "desolate mountainous area of central Sinai soon after daybreak", according to Reuters.

Egyptian rescue teams have now located the plane. A security officer at the scene reportedly said the plane was "completely destroyed".

Egyptian security sources say there is no indication the plane was shot down.

The majority of the passengers are said to be Russian tourists, latest reports say the plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew.

According to FlightRader, flight 7K 9268 was descending before signal was lost. The plane reportedly disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after taking off.