The youngest victim of last weekend's Russian tourist jet disaster may help solve the question of what happened to the Airbus A321 before it went down in Egypt last weekend.
Ten-month-old Darina Gromova from St Petersburg had been on holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh with her parents when they, and 221 others, died shortly after their flight to Russia took off on Saturday.
The baby girl's body was found more than 21 miles from the main crash site, indicating that the plane may have exploded earlier than aviation experts had previously thought.
That has forced investigators to widen the search area - and could lead to the discovery of otherwise missed clues.
Tragedy: The discovery of little Darina's body, pictured at a St Petersburg airport shortly before the young family set off for Egypt, may help solve the question of what happened to the Airbus A321 before it went down
The discovery of the small child means the plane could have disintegrated in mid-air sooner than was previously believed - and has forced investigators to expand the search area
Crash: The Airbus A321 crashed on Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg
Recovery of victims and plane fragments had previously been restricted to a smaller area, but the discovery of Darina's body so far from the crash site has seen it widened to 25miles.
It is believed that the location of the baby girl's body was closer to the airport, suggesting that an on-board explosion tore apart the aircraft sooner after takeoff. The picture of little Darina, taken by her 26-year-old mother Tatiana at a St Petersburg airport shortly before they set off for Egypt, has become a symbol of the 224 victims of the disaster.
Mrs Gromova happily dubbed her daughter 'the main passenger' as the young family set off on a hard-earned vacation to Sharm el-Sheikh.
The remains of little Darina were sent to Cairo on Thursday after being found miles from the main crash site in the Sinai Peninsula.
Heartbreaking: The body of ten-month-old Darina Gromova was found more than 21 miles from the wreckage of the Airbus A321 that crashed in Egypt on Saturday, killing all 224 on board
Young lives lost: The remains of Tatiana and Alexei Gromov, aged 26 and 27 and pictured on their wedding day just over a year ago, have yet to be found
Proud mother: Tatiana, 26, was on maternity leave, caring for her young daughter, seen here in St Petersburg
Vladimir Svetelsky, a Russian emergency ministry official in Egypt, confirmed the girl's discovery, while the remains of her mother and father, Alexei Gromov, 27, have yet to be found.
Mr Gromov, the son of a Russian air force pilot, was an IT specialist while his wife-of-one-year had gone on maternity leave from her job as an exhibitions organiser.
Her grandmother, Elena Gromova, told Russian news site Life News 78 that she offered to keep the baby home for the Egypt trip, but her parents said no.
'They wanted to take the child with them, to let her splash her feet in the sea,' Gromova was quoted as saying.
'They did not want to leave her,' she said, in tears.
The location of Darina's body could become a significant clue as international aviation experts seek to understand the cause of the crash, dubbed the worst in Russian history.
The young couple were both active on social media and posted several images chronicling their pregnancy and excitement ahead of Darina's birth
Mr Gromov was an IT specialist while his wife-of-one-year worked as an exhibitions organiser
Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Leonid Belyaev said the bodies of 19 passengers had been released for burial today or tomorrow. So far the remains of 58 victims have been identified.
Earlier today, photographs of the wreckage emerged which shows holes in the crashed Airbus A321 which bear the evidence of having been caused by something from inside the plane.
Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda has highlighted pictures of the Airbus A321 wreckage in Egypt showing pockmarks in the fuselage.
The holes 'look like marks made by shrapnel', and in addition there are 'holes in the plane parts with the edges curved inside-out.
'We may suppose that these are the holes made by the destructive parts of the bomb,' said the newspaper, which credited bloggers with highlighting the 'evidence'.
One image shows 'small holes at the inner door of the emergency exit at the back part of the plane.
A US intelligence source has claimed a bomb planted by ISIS or an ISIS affiliate is the most likely reason behind the Russian jet crash in Egypt last Saturday (wreckage pictured)
Clearer picture: Drone footage of the crash site shows the parts of the plane and the debris zone
'Bomb evidence': Images show holes in the wreckage of the Airbus A321 that crashed on the Sinai peninsula Saturday, killing all 224 onboard, which appears to have been caused by something from inside the plane
Possible proof: A picture of one of the crashed Airbus A321's doors reveals 'pockmarks' on the inside, which could be evidence of shrapnel from a bomb that has gone off inside the plane
No comments:
Post a Comment