A Russian passenger plane carrying 224 passengers and crew operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia has crashed in a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, with medics at the site reporting “casualties”.

The Airbus A321 and was carrying 200 adult passengers, 17 children and 7 crew en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it lost contact 23 minutes into its flight.

A profile of the flight released by flight tracking site flightradar24.com showed the plane climbing to 33,000 feet, then suddenly descending 5,000 feet before losing contact.

“Military planes have discovered the wreckage of the plane … in a mountainous area, and 45 ambulances have been directed to the site to evacuate dead and wounded,” a statement from Egypt’s government said.

Officials and the state MENA news agency later said the “casualties” were being transferred to nearby hospitals.

The Reuters news agency reported that an anonymous officer at the site had said “voices” had been heard in part of the wreckage.

A security officer had earlier told Reuters the plane had been “completely” destroyed.

Egypt’s aviation ministry said the plane came down in the Hassana area, 35 kilometres south of the Sinai Mediterranean coastal city of Al Arish.

Egyptian security sources said there were no indications that the plane was shot down.

Egyptian media quoted a government investigator as saying that the pilot had reported a “technical failure” and had requested permission to land at the nearest airport.

A statement from Egyptian prime minister Sherif Ismail’s office said he had formed a cabinet-level crisis committee to deal with the crash. Egypt’s top prosecutor has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Russian president Vladimir Putin issued a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the victims and said Russian rescue teams were on their way.

North Sinai is home to a two-year-old Islamist insurgency and militants affiliated to Islamic State have killed hundreds of soldiers and police.

Sharm el-Sheikh is a popular Red Sea resort and tourist destination.

There were earlier reports that the plane had made contact with Turkish air traffic control after initially being reported missing.

At Saint Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, anxious family members awaited news of their loved ones.

“I am meeting my parents,” said 25-year-old Ella Smirnova.

“I spoke to them last on the phone when they were already on the plane, and then I heard the news.”

“I will keep hoping until the end that they are alive, but perhaps I will never see them again.”

In January 2011, a Kogalymavia airliner caught fire while taxiing before take-off at a Siberian airport, killing three and injuring dozens.