No survivors' as debris reported from missing EgyptAir plane
Egypt's civil aviation minister has told the relatives of the victims of the EgyptAir crash there are "no survivors", according to a newspaper report.
The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm said Sherif Fathi had told the families that Egyptian armed forces are doing their best to locate the wreckage and personal belongings of the victims.
The report came after authorities say they had spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases in the search for the missing plane, according to Greek officials.
The office of Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, earlier issued a statement expressing its condolences to the relatives of the 66 killed. It said the presidency "expressed its deep regret and sadness for the victims".
"God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added.
The statement marked the first official recognition by Egypt's government that the missing plane had crashed.
France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK have all joined the Egyptian search effort, Egypt's defence ministry said. Authorities had been scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete.
Egyptian authorities say they have spotted a body part, two seats and suitcases in the search for the missing EgyptAir plane, according to Greek officials.
Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the items were found in the search area in the Mediterranean, slightly to the south of where the aircraft vanished from radar signals early on Thursday.
He said the location was slightly north of where other debris was found on Thursday afternoon but authorities had been unable to identify that as having come from the missing Airbus A320.
Wreckage from the crashed EgyptAir flight has been found in the Mediterranean, Egyptian officials have announced.
Flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Egypt's army spokesman said debris and passenger belongings have been located 180 miles off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt.
Brigadier General Mohammed Samir said in a statement on his Facebook page that Egyptian jets and naval vessels participating in the search for missing Flight 804 had found "personal belongings of the passengers and parts of the plane debris", 180 miles north of the city of Alexandria.
Airport officials in Egypt said investigators will inspect the debris and personal belongings that have been recovered.
Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists.
The search for a missing EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean is continuing for a second day as tributes have been paid to those who were on board.
EgyptAir flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos says the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea.
Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said. The airline said the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Yesterday, EgyptAir reported that wreckage from the plane, including life jackets, had been found near the Greek island of Karpathos by the Greek authorities.
But EgyptAir's vice chairman Ahmed Adel later told CNN that the items were not from flight MS804.
He said: "We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on."
The distressed relatives of some of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news.
France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said today there is "absolutely no indication" of the cause.
The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favoured" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution".
A French military Falcon jet is helping in the search for debris. Vidalies said France could offer undersea search equipment and experts.
Amid fears it was an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt.
Before it disappeared from radar screens around 2.45am Cairo time (12.45am Irish time), the plane spun all the way around and suddenly lost altitude.
Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists, and there are no signs of survivors.
One of those on board was father-of-two Richard Osman from Britain.
He was described by his younger brother Alastair as a workaholic and a very admirable person who "never deviated from the straight path".
Alastair Osman told ITV News: "Richard has two kids. Richard was a very kind person, loving person, very focused. He was a workaholic and never deviated from the straight path.
"A very admirable person and a lot of people admired him for his strength and values. He's a new dad. A dad for the second time now and I know that would have filled him with love and joy. It's funny how quickly things change."
Egyptian and Greek authorities in ships and planes searched the suspected crash area throughout the day for traces of the airliner or its victims, with more help on the way from the US, Britain and France.
Civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still being investigated but the possibility it was a terror attack "is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure".
Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russia's top domestic security agency, said: "In all likelihood it was a terror attack."
Asked about why Mr Osman was on the flight, his brother told the news programme: "He would have been going to work I assume. I know he works in both Egypt and another country in Africa.
"I guess it was work-related. He's been doing this for years in the gold mining industry. This was a regular trip. He used to do it at least once a month, year after year."
The Airbus A320 was built in 2003 and was flying at 37,000ft, the airline said on Twitter.
It tweeted that the pilot had logged 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 hours on the A320, and the co-pilot had logged 2,766 hours.
There was confusion over whether a distress signal had been sent by the Airbus A320.
Egypt's civil aviation authority said one was received at 4.26am local time, believed to be an automated message rather than one sent by the pilot.
But in a statement on its website, the Egyptian military said later it had received no distress message from the aircraft .
Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace.
He also spoke to Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and agreed to "closely co-operate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances surrounding the disaster".
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
