Noise' In Last Second Of Egypt Flight Audio

Egyptian officials investigating the Metrojet crash have revealed a noise was heard in the last second of the black box recording.

However, the head of the air accident investigation has said this is not enough to satisfy him that an in-flight explosion took place over the Sinai peninsula last Saturday.

"A spectral analysis will be carried out by specialised labs in order to identify the nature of this noise," Ayman el Mokadem added.

The investigator appeared to call on Britain to provide its intelligence into what caused the disaster, as his committee "was not provided with any information" to suggest the plane was brought down deliberately.

Mr el Mokadem told a news conference that the plane's debris was spread over a "wide area" more than 13km in length, which is consistent with an in-flight breakup of the plane.

"Some parts of the wreckage are missing, and it is hoped to locate them in the coming days. The initial observation of the aircraft wreckage does not allow for identifying the origin of the in-flight breakup," he added.

During the conference, one official suggested a passenger's lithium batteries or an explosion in the fuel compartment might be responsible - and warned nothing could be excluded.

Preliminary analysis of data successfully downloaded from the flight recorders suggests the plane was airborne for 23 minutes and 14 seconds.

The last recorded altitude of the Airbus A321 was 30,888ft - and the aircraft was still in climbing mode at the end of the recording, with auto-pilot engaged throughout the flight.

The speed of the plane was 281 knots (323mph).

Mr el Mokadem's confirmation that a noise can be heard at the end of the cockpit voice recordings follows French media reports that the black boxes "distinctly show the sound of an explosion during the flight".

A total of 58 people are currently involved in the investigation into crash which killed 224 people - and Egyptian analysts have been joined by experts from Russia, France, Germany and Ireland.

An Islamic State affiliate in the Sinai peninsula has claimed responsibility for bringing down the Russian plane, but the terror group has provided no further details.

US officials believe they have intercepted boastful exchanges between IS militants who were celebrating the tragedy.

Russia, Turkey and several European countries have joined the UK in suspending flights from Sharm el Sheikh, following concerns over lax security at the city's main airport.

Although around 1,500 Britons were able to fly home on Friday, thousands remain stranded in the Egyptian resort waiting to hear when a flight will be available.

Passengers have described the situation as "an absolute shambles" with "shocking" security allowing travellers to pay to be fast-tracked past airport scanners.