An Egyptian charter plane Boeing 737 crashed into the Red Sea early on Saturday shortly after taking off from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all the 135 passengers and 13 crew members aboard, airport officials said.

Initial reports said the crash killed 141 people including 135 passengers and 6 crew members aboard.

According to Egyptian Aviation Ministry sources, most of the passengers were French tourists bound for Cairo. But the Egyptian official television said the plane was heading to France.

Egypt's official news agency MENA said the plane disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff at 0244 GMT.

It also said the six crew members on board the crashed plane belonged to a private Egyptian company named Flash Air.

The agency quoted an official source as saying the plane had been located in the Red Sea off Sharm el-Sheikh and that efforts were underway to retrieve the victims.

An initial statement from the Aviation Ministry called the crash an "accident" and said crew were searching for the wreckage, but gave no ideas on the possible cause.

The airport officials said pieces of wreckage of the plane were found in the sea about 15 kilometers south of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Engineers from the national carrier Egyptair rushed in to try to help determine what happened. 

The weather was clear in Sharm el-Sheikh and other flights were taking off without incident, officials said.

Sharm el-Sheik is a popular Red Sea tourist resort that also frequently hosts major political and economic summits. Egypt has held several meetings on peace in the Middle East there. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2004)