The body of a 10-month-old girl was found more than 21 miles from the main wreckage of Saturday’s Russian jetliner crash — deepening the mystery of how and where the plane was blown out of the sky over Egypt.
Investigators hope the discovery of Darina Gromova’s remains will lead to crucial clues as they piece together the plane’s midair destruction over the Sinai Desert, the Daily Mail reported.
US and British authorities suspect that ISIS-affiliated terrorists planted a bomb in the luggage hold of Metrojet Flight 9268, which went down in the Sinai Peninsula Saturday, killing all 224 people aboard.
Investigators are now widening their search by 25 miles with the discovery of the Russian baby, whose body was in an area closer to Sharm el-Sheik’s airport than the bulk of the wreckage.
The development in the crash probe came as:
- Images of the wreckage supported the bombing theory, showing holes in the fuselage that appear to have been made by projectiles from inside the plane. Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda said the holes, whose edges curve outward, “look like marks made by schrapnel.” “We may suppose that these are the holes made by the destructive parts of the bomb,” the paper said.
- Sources revealed that British and US spies intercepted messages among ISIS extremists in Syria and Egypt who were discussing a major terrorist attack in the region where the jet broke apart, The Telegraph reported. The damning intelligence led British officials to believe the terror group planted the explosives.
- The British government announced that a ban on travel from the Sharm el-Sheik airport to Britain would be lifted Friday — but under new security measures. Passengers can bring on carry luggage only, and all checked baggage would be transported in separate aircraft. “It’s one of the big concerns we had,” British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said. “Without going into too much of the information that we have received and had before, we think this is one of the ways of making sure the people who are returning are safe.” Britain has requested extra background checks on Egyptian baggage handlers, said a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron. The checks were “the Number One priority,” a security source told The Times of London.
- President Obama addressed the disaster Thursday evening, telling Seattle radio station KIRO, “We are taking very seriously the possibility that there was a bomb on board.” He added, “We’re going to spend a lot of time just making sure our own investigators and own intelligence community find out what’s going on before we make any definitive pronouncements.”
- House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said the possibility that ISIS placed a bomb on the jet “is our grave concern.” “The idea that ISIS now would have the capability to target aircraft — if, in fact, this is the case — would be the most significant terrorist attack against the aviation sector since 9/11.” McCaul said on MSNBC.
- Russian and Egyptian officials denied the bomb theory. “One cannot rule out a single theory, but at this point there are no reasons to voice just one theory as reliable — only investigators can do that,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an apparent attempt to blame safety issues, Russia’s airline regulator suspended flight authorization for all Boeing-737 aircraft, citing concerns about their rudder-control system.
Investigators are focused on the theory that ISIS recruited a baggage worker who planted the bomb — and authorities have been interrogating airport staff.
Experts told The Times of London that a mole could have easily carried the device through the airport because baggage handlers and guards aren’t subjected to rigorous security measures.
A police border-security expert said it was doubtful a terrorist would risk walking through ordinary security.
“It is far too much of a risk, even if the airport security workers are incredibly laid back, and they head for somebody they know is not very thorough,” he said.
ISIS has already claimed credit for the attack — most recently in an audio recording sent out via social media Wednesday.
“We were the ones with God’s grace who made the plan fall, and we will reveal how we took it down when and how we see fit,” a voice declared in the recording.
Sources told the Mirror that a massive international manhunt was under way as British, American, Egyptian and Russian forces were working to find the bomber.
“Russia and Egypt may officially deny this was a bomb attack, but behind the scenes they are as invested as everyone else in the manhunt,” the source said.
US investigators are still concerned that without forces on the ground in Egypt, they will never know whether there’s blast material on the wreckage, a law-enforcement source told The Post.
Meanwhile, the first two funerals were held for victims of the crash. Nina Lushchenko, 60, was laid to rest in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, 125 miles south of St. Petersburg, while Aleksei Alekseev, 31, was buried in St. Petersburg.
Darina was on vacation in the resort city with her parents, Aleksei and Tatiana, who were also on board and have yet to be found.
Before taking off to Egypt, the 26-year-old mom snapped a photo of Darina pressing her hands against a window overlooking the Pulkovo Airport tarmac.
“The main passenger,” Tatiana wrote on social media.
With Post Wire Services