EgyptAir MS804: Crash Site Investigators 'Find Body Parts, Seats And Suitcases'

EgyptAir MS804: Crash Site Investigators 'Find Body Parts, Seats & Suitcases'
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• 66 people feared dead after plane crashes in Mediterranean sea

• 'No credible' claims of responsibility for downing EgyptAir flight MS804

• Debris, body parts and passenger belongings have been found 

• Possible oil slick spotted in Med sea area where plane is thought to be

• Prayers held for the victims at Cairo's Sultan Hussein mosque

Egyptian authorities say they have spotted debris, body parts, two seats and some suitcases in the search for EgyptAir flight MS804. 

Greece's defence minister Panos Kammenos said the items were found slightly south of where the aircraft had vanished from radar signals on Thursday morning. 

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An Egyptian plane searches the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 on Thursday
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Airbus 320, which was carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from the radar at 2.45 am local time on Thursday morning.

No distress call was made by the pilots. 

The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian. There were 10 crew members including three security guards.

The office of Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, 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" of EgyptAir flight 804. "God give great mercy and host them in his heaven," it added.

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Debris believed to be from the missing plane has been found 180miles north of Alexandria
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Family members of four of the 66 victims who are believed to have died in the EgyptAir plane crash have held prayers for the dead in Cairo's Sultan Hussein mosque.

Some of the relatives broke into tears as they prayed on Friday. Among the victims of the crash of the EgyptAir flight 804 on Thursday were Salah Abu Laban, his wife Sahar Qouidar, their son Ghassan Abu Laban and daughter-in-law Reem al-Sebaei.

Their relative, Abdel-Rahman al-Nasry, told The Associated Press that "this is very hard for the family."

A friend of the family, Magdi Badr, says: "We pray for the victims."

The European Space Agency says one of its satellites has spotted a possible oil slick in the same area of the Mediterranean Sea where EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared.

The agency says its Sentinel-1A radar satellite detected the 2 kilometer- (1.2 mile-) long slick about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the plane's last known location. It gave the coordinates as 33 32' N / 29 13' E.

Greece’s defence minister said the aircraft made abrupt turns and suddenly lost altitude before vanishing from radar.

Kammenos said the aircraft was 10-15 miles inside Egyptian airspace and at an altitude of 37,000 feet.

He said: “It turned 90 degrees left and then a 360 degree turn toward the right, dropping from 38,00.0 to 15,000 feet and then it was lost at about 10,000 feet.”

France, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK have all joined the Egyptian search effort, Egypt's defense ministry said. Authorities had been scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete.

A team of Egyptian investigators led by Ayman el-Mokadam - along with French and British investigators and an expert from Airbus - will inspect what the army has found, Egyptian officials said.

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A relative of one of the passengers weeps after attending prayers for the dead at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo on Friday
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Egypt's aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure."

Yet France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault asserted on Friday on France-2 television that there is "absolutely no indication" of what caused the crash.

The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution."

Amid fears the plane was downed by an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt.

A terror analyst who is in contact with members of the Islamic State (IS) group and other jihadist groups says there have been "no credible or even semi-credible" claims of responsibility for the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804.

Shiraz Maher at the International Center for the Study of Radicalisation in London says IS on Thursday released a 20-minute video about how they planned to conquer India. He says "if they had been involved in the crash, it would be very odd for them to have sent that video rather than boasting of the crash."

Maher said both the IS and al-Qaeda affiliates have been quick to claim responsibility in the past for other plane crashes, though he said the wreckage is a better indicator of whether the crash was terror-related.

Maher also said it would be highly unusual to target a plane with mostly Muslim passengers, as EgyptAir's leaked passenger manifest has suggested. 

Missing Egyptair Plane A320
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian ship searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Unidentified relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane and ship search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic in lower right reads, "from the search for the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane flies over an Egyptian ship during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane and ship search in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Unidentified relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) (credit:Michel Euler/AP)
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Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (credit:Amr Nabil/AP)
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Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An air force personnel walks near an Erieye EMB-145H AEW&C radar aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force, which took part and now is on stand by, in the searching operation of the missing Egypt plane, at the military air base of Kastelli on the southern Greek island of Crete, Friday, May 20, 2016. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (credit:Amr Nabil/AP)
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Unidentified relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport, Thursday, May 19, 2016. He said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash. "We cannot rule anything out," he said. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning, Egyptian aviation officials said. (AP Photo/Selman Elotefy) (credit:Selman Elotefy/AP)
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Unidentified relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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People wait outside the international arrivals terminal at Cairo Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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Tv crews wait near the EgyptAir desk at Charles de Gaulle airport, after an EgyptAir flight disappeared from radar during its flight from Paris to Cairo, in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann (credit:Christian Hartmann / Reuters)
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Journalists report near the EgyptAir desk at Charles de Gaulle airport, after an EgyptAir flight disappeared from radar during its flight from Paris to Cairo, in Paris, France in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann (credit:Christian Hartmann / Reuters)
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Security forces are seen outside the international arrivals terminal at Cairo Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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FILE - In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016, file photo, the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair after landing at Larnaca airport, Cyprus. A similar Airbus A320 EgyptAir plane from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline said. EgyptAir Flight 804 was lost from radar at 2:45 a.m. local time when it was flying at 37,000 feet, the airline said. It said the Airbus A320 had vanished 10 miles (16 kilometers) after it entered Egyptian airspace. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An Egypt and EgyptAir flags are seen over Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives were been being held at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline said. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An employee works at the EgyptAir desk at Charles de Gaulle airport, after an EgyptAir flight disappeared from radar during its flight from Paris to Cairo, in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann (credit:Christian Hartmann / Reuters)
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An unidentified woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building, where relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held, at Cairo International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)
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The EgyptAir plane scheduled to make the following flight from Paris to Cairo, after flight MS804 disappeared from radar, taxies on the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann (credit:Christian Hartmann / Reuters)
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "The missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy addresses world press in press conference about missing Egyptair flight MS804.

Pictured: Sherif FathyRef: SPL1286204 200516
Picture by: MM/Splash News

Splash News and Pictures
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(credit:MM/Splash News)
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Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy speaks, after EgyptAir plane vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo, during a news conference at headquarters of ministry in Cairo, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (credit:Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters)
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In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "From the search of the missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy addresses world press in press conference about missing Egyptair flight MS804.

Pictured: Sherif FathyRef: SPL1286204 200516
Picture by: MM/Splash News

Splash News and Pictures
Los Angeles:310-821-2666
New York:212-619-2666
London:870-934-2666
photodesk@splashnews.com

(credit:MM/Splash News)
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Egypt's Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy (L) speaks during a press conference on May 19, 2016 at the Ministry of Civil Aviation at Cairo's airport after an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo crashed into the Mediterranean sea with 66 people on board. The Airbus A320 fell 22,000 feet and swerved sharply twice in Egyptian airspace before it disappeared from radar screens, Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told a news conference. Fathy said he could not rule out either terrorism or a technical problem. / AFP / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:KHALED DESOUKI via Getty Images)
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CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 19: Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy holds a press conference regarding to missing EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board over the eastern Mediterranean Thursday morning after it entered Egyptian airspace, in Cairo, Egypt on May 19, 2016. (Photo by Ala Ahmed/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A cameraman records an Erieye EMB-145H AEW&C radar aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force, which took part and now is on stand by, in the searching operation of the missing Egypt plane, at the military air base of Kastelli on the southern Greek island of Crete, Friday, May 20, 2016. The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A security airport checks an Egyptair plane after arrival from Cairo to Luxor International Airport, Egypt May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (credit:Amr Dalsh / Reuters)