Source: Nazir Azhari Bin Mohd Anis / EyeEm / Getty
EgyptAir Flight 804 vanished from radar on its way to Cairo from Paris on Thursday morning, the airline confirmed. The plane, which had 66 people on board, was coasting at 37,000 feet and wasn’t that far from Egypt when it lost contact overnight above the Mediterranean Sea, CNN reported.
Most of the flight’s passengers were Egyptian or French including three children, seven crew and three “security personnel.” No Americans on the plane, NBC News noted.
Leaders from France and Egypt have differing views on the status of the plane though. While France’s President Francois Hollande said he was told the flight crashed, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi said he preferred to classify the flight as “missing.”
“We do not deny there is a possibility of terrorism or deny the possibility of technical fault,” Fathi said during a news conference. “I will continue to use the term missing plane until we find any debris.”
However, Egyptian search teams have spotted what they believe to be debris from the crashed jet in the Mediterranean Sea, a Greek military official told the AP. But there is no confirmation that it’s from EgyptAir Flight 804.
Meanwhile, according to AP reporter Raphael Satter, the first Egypt flight from Paris is believed to have family members from Flight 804 on it. Grieving relatives of passengers have also gathered at the Cairo International Airport waiting to hear news about their loved ones.
President Obama was briefed about the missing plane on Thursday morning and told officials to provide support as needed, Good Morning America tweeted:
Sending our prayers to those on Flight 804 and their families.
This is a developing story. We will provide updates and they become available.
BREAKING: EgyptAir Flight 804 Vanishes With 66 People Aboard, May Have Crashed was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
