It has been confirmed that the Russian plane which crashed killing 224 people broke up in mid-air.
The revelation heightens the chances a bomb had been planted onboard the plane before it left the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh.
ISIS affiliates have already claimed responsibility for the tragedy – although security experts speaking to MirrorOnline cast serious doubt on their claim.
Viktor Sorochenko, a senior official with Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee said: “The disintegration happened in the air and the fragments are strewn over a large area.”
Mr Sorochenko is in Cairo, where he is part of an international panel of experts from Russia, Egypt, France and Ireland.
Experts are continuing to examine the plane’s two black boxes.
United Arab Emirates airlines Emirates, Air Arabia and flydubai said today they were re-routing flights to avoid Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The airlines said they were closely monitoring the area and the re-routing was a security precaution, according to separate emailed statements to Reuters.
Re-routing usually means longer flying distances, which add to fuel costs.
Budget carrier easyJet said it was taking advice from all relevant authorities and was continuing to “actively review” the situation.
British Airways said in a statement that it did not discuss flight routes, “however we would never fly a route unless it was safe to do so”.
