A plane belonging to the multinational observer force that monitors the Egyptian-Israeli border crashed today in the Sinai peninsula, and nine mainly French nationals were feared dead, security sources said.
The sources said the aircraft crashed on a road and hit a truck, which exploded. They said three burned bodies thought to be from the plane were found in the wreckage, and six other people believed to be on the plane were missing and feared dead.
The security sources said the driver of the truck had jumped from his vehicle and was believed to have survived.
They said they believed the crash was caused by mechanical problems, and foul play was not suspected.
Security sources said there were eight French nationals on board the plane and one Canadian, although an official at the multinational forces said he was still waiting for confirmation that a ninth person had been on the plane.
A French defence ministry spokesman said the aircraft, a small plane called a Twin Otter, was "very likely" French.
He was unable to confirm the number of victims or the cause of the crash. Security sources said the plane had been heading from El-Gorah in northern Sinai to Saint Catherine in the south. There was contradictory information on exactly how soon after take-off the plane went down.
One security source said it had lost contact with air traffic control shortly after take-off, and was presumed to have crashed then. Another source said it had crashed toward the end of its trip.
The Multinational Force and Observers mission was set up to supervise security provisions in the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The force has contingents from 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Fiji, France, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the United States and Uruguay.