MOSCOW, Oct 31  - Egypt confirmed on Saturday that a passenger jet travelling from the Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russian city of St Petersburg had crashed in central Sinai.

A statement from the prime minister's office said Sherif Ismail had formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

Russia's RIA news agency reported that the plane disappeared  from radar screens in Cypriot airspace, citing a Russian aviation authority source.

The source said the aircraft was an Airbus A-321 jet, had 224 passengers and crew on board, and was operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia.