WEB DESK /
AN Egypt Air Flight MS804 that went off radar screens early today en route from Paris to Cairo went down into the Mediterranean Sea, the Al Mayadeen TV channel reports citing airline sources.
According to Egypt Air, flight MS804, en route from Paris to Cairo, went off radar screens at 00:45 GMT today. Egypt Air said via Twitter that the plane was 10 miles into the Egyptian airspace and at an altitude of 37,000 feet when radar contact with it was lost. According to Sky News Arabia, the aircraft’s last appearance was above Greece.
Egypt Air says it received a distress signal before the plane disappeared from radar. According to the airline, there were a total of 66 people on board the plane, including 56 passengers. The passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, one Briton, two Iraqis, as well as people from Canada, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Portugal including three children. Egypt Air is following the situation closely with the competent authorities through the integrated operations centre. Egypt Air said, special teams from the Egyptian Armed Forces were are at site located for inspection and rescue.
The Greek authorities have also joined Egyptian armed forces in the search operation. The company also established a hotline for passengers’ relatives. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has reached at the airport in Cairo, along with the families of those on board. Egypt Air Flight MS 804 departed from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 23:09 GMT. The plane was headed for Cairo International Airport.
Meanwhile EGYPTAIR has denied what it called misleading information published by media regarding the reasons of the disappearance. “all misleading information published by news websites and on the social media channels regarding the reasons of the disappearance of EGYPTAIR flight MS804 and the company confirms that the reason of disappearance hasn’t been yet confirmed. EGYPTAIR Calls for media resources to be assured of the information they post or release and to abide by the official press releases issued by EGYPTAIR media center” EGYPTAIR said in statement.
