Egypt’s interior ministry denied on Tuesday media reports that some Sharm El-Sheikh Airport staff were arrested in connection with the crash of a Russian passenger airliner over Egypt’s Sinai, state news agency MENA reported.

Reuters had earlier quoted anonymous Egyptian security sources who said the Egyptian authorities are holding 17 people in connection with the Sinai plane crash.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin website said Russian security services have determined that a bomb caused the crash which took the lives of 224 people on 31 October.

Egypt has yet to comment on Russia’s announcement.