A passenger plane carrying 224 people has crashed in Egypt, with all on board feared dead.

The jet was on its way to Russia from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Egyptian prime minister says the Airbus came down in central Sinai after losing contact with air traffic control.

Egyptian security sources told Reuters that there were no indications the plane was shot down. 

Eygpt has dispatched 45 ambulances to the scene of the crash, where it's reported that the voices of trapped passengers can be heard from one section of the wreckage.

It's understood the plane split into two parts.

Meanwhile, relative of those on board have begun arriving at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg where they're being directed to a crisis centre.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his deepest condolences to relatives of those who died.

He's ordered Russian rescue teams to the crash site.

Sky's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo:

Mike Vivian, the former head of flight operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, says it's too early to know the cause of the crash: