CCTV station was “abandoned” during Sinai plane crash: source

PanARMENIAN.Net - A CCTV station where security officials were supposed to be constantly monitoring baggage handlers at Sharm el Sheikh airport was routinely abandoned, a staff member said. It was “50-50,” they told The Independent on Sunday, November 8, adding that “it happens sometimes that no one is there,” the news agency reports.

Someone is supposed to keep watch on the baggage handling room at all times, said the member of staff, who spoke on the strict condition of anonymity. Monitoring a network of CCTV cameras, they were supposed to “make sure that staff don’t put things in the bags or take things out,” the source said.

CCTV was a problem throughout the airport, not just in the baggage-handling rooms, they said, adding “to tell you the truth, there are a lot of broken CCTV cameras inside Sharm el Sheikh airport.”

Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation said a Russian aircraft carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members crashed Saturday, October 31, in the restive Sinai peninsula.

Investigation is currently underway to determine the cause behind the crash.