Sinai plane crash: the impact of social media

By Euronews with VK, Ioulia Poukhli, Facebook

Published on 02/11/2015 - 17:10

Russia is reeling from the worst air disaster in its history. Of the 224 people on board the Kogalymavia plane from Sharm el-Sheikh, 219 were Russian

Russia is reeling from the worst air disaster in its history. Of the 224 people on board the Kogalymavia plane from Sharm el-Sheikh, 219 were Russian nationals, four were Ukrainian and one was from Belarus.

As investigators work to uncover the cause of the crash, the first bodies have begun to arrive in St Petersburg, the intended destination of the downed flight KGL9268.

On board were seven crew members and 217 passengers, 25 of whom were children.

Russian social media has been awash with tributes to those who died. They serve as a poignant reminder of how quickly things can change.

The Gromov family

Some people, such as the Gromov family, shared photos just minutes before boarding the flight.

The couple was travelling with their ten-month-old daughter, Darina. She was the youngest victim of the disaster.

Yuriy Shein, 38, and his wife Olga, 30, were on board with their three children: Evgeniya, 11; Lera, 10; and Nastya, 3. The trip was reportedly to celebrate four years of marriage.

They, too, uploaded a photo to social media just minutes before departure from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Widower Dmitry Bogdanov and his three children were also on the fatal flight: Valeriya, 24; Anastasiya, 22; and Anton, 10, who posted a photo as he left St Petersburg, which he tagged “bye bye, Russia.”

Alexandre Kopilov, the deputy leader of Pskov treated his partner to a trip to Egypt to celebrate her birthday in the sun.

Yulia Gerasina

Yulia Gerasina and her six-year-old daughter Vera were returning from a trip marking the child’s first school holidays. Yulia’s sister Maria has posted a number of photos of the pair in an effort to come to terms with the fact they have gone.

The 52-year-old from the Murmansk region leaves behind one son.

Alina Gaydamak

A snap decision to change her travel plans led to 27-year-old Alina being on the fatal flight. She had been on holiday with her mother in Israel, then decided to spend her final few days in Sharm el-Sheikh before taking a flight back to St Petersburg.

The 29-year-old flight attendant’s wife asked him to send a message when he landed. He jokingly told her she would know if anything happened, because she would have no news… He leaves behind a his wife and their young daughter, Milana.

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