EgyptAir Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, carrying 66 people, crashed early May 19 into the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete, Egyptian officials say.
EgyptAir has stated earlier that wreckage of the plane has been found near Karpathos Island, about 220 miles southeast of Athens.
But a senior Greek air safety official says the debris found so far in the Mediterranean Sea does not belong to an aircraft.
The airline later confirmed to CNN that the plastic objects and life jackets found in the sea did not belong to their aircraft.
The flight took of at 11:09 p.m. (local time) on May 18 from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France and radar contact was lost at 2:45 a.m. on May 19 above the Mediterranean Sea between Greek island of Crete and Egypt.
Here Is What We Know:
Athanassios Binis, head of Greece’s Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board, told state ERT TV that “an assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft.” He says Thursday this has been confirmed by Egyptian authorities.
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion, confirmed two Canadians were aboard the plane.
Infrared and multi-spectral imagers “strongly suggest” explosion happened aboard the flight, a senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the U.S.’s capabilities in the region told NBC News. He said it remains a question what may have caused an explosion.
EgyptAir published a press release on the finding of the wreckage of the plane at about 7 p.m. local time:
EGYPTAIR resource stated that the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation has just received an official letter from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that confirms the finding of wreckage of the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Karpathos Island.
EGYPTAIR sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804.
Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected.
the Egyptian Investigation Team in co-operation with the Greek counterpart are still searching for other remains of the missing plane.
