SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: Divers and investigators are still looking for clues in the wreckage, but there is little hope of finding any survivors in the aftermath of today's crash of a chartered airliner off the coast of Egypt. The plane crashed into the Red Sea with 148 people on board. Chris Burns reports.</s>CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The end of a New Year's vacation turns tragic. Rescuers who lost hope of finding survivors concentrated on gleaning the deep waters for remains, wreckage, clues of what went wrong aboard the plane that officials say gave no distress call. The Flash Airlines Boeing 737, a chartered plane with an Egyptian crew and mostly French tourists, had just taken off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, headed for Paris via Cairo. Officials say it climbed to 5,000 feet, turned left as planned, then changed its course before plunging into the Red Sea with no word from the pilot.</s>AHMED SHAFIQ, EGYPTIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER: There was a severe changing in the plane, according to some problems that happened in the aircraft.</s>BURNS: Amid worldwide terrorism alerts involving air travel around the New Year's holidays, Egyptian officials were ruling out that foul play was behind this crash. Those searching the shark filled waters for wreckage say they agree up to now.</s>AMR ABOULFATH, SINAI ASSOCIATION FOR DIVING: Out of what I've seen personally, I do not believe that this was a terrorism action.</s>BURNS: Meanwhile, grieving families of the victims were being brought to Sharm el-Sheikh to help in the grim task of identifying their loved ones. And investigators from France and the United States were joining Egyptian experts, probing what happened during those few short minutes the plane was in the air. (on camera): This bustling Red Sea resort is a welcome relief for the French and other snow birds from wintry Europe. The hotels here are packed this time of year. And Egyptian officials are hoping this one crash won't destroy that image. Chris Burns, CNN, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Egyptian Plane Crash: Little Hope for Survivors