01:00
EgyptAir flight has disappeared off the northern coast of Egypt with 66 people on
board. Egypt's armed forces launched a search and rescue operation to locate
the aircraft.
Egypt's President
el-Sissi convened the National Security Council in response to the
disappearance of EgyptAir flight MS804, according to state-run al-Ahram news
outlet.
Egyptian Foreign
Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters from the EgyptAir crisis center that
rescue operations are ongoing, adding that there is no confirmation on the
location and condition of the aircraft.
 |
| Prime Minister Sherif Ismail spoke to reporters outside Cairo International Airport. |
Egypt's civil
aviation ministry said in an official statement that it is too early to confirm
whether the aircraft crashed.
The ministry's remarks come as news agencies
reported Egyptian civil aviation officials confirming, on condition of
anonymity, flight MS804 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Flight tracking
site FlightRadar24 said it did not detect an "emergency squawk" from
EgyptAir flight MS804.
EgyptAir
denies all misleading information published by news websites and 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," the carrier said in a statement.
An Airbus 320
disappeared from radar carrying 66 people on board after entering Egyptian
airspace. DW is following the story as it develops.
French President
Francois Hollande suggested during a televised speech that flight MS408
"crashed."
"We must ensure that we know everything
on the causes of what happened. No hypothesis is ruled out or favored,"
Hollande said.
The Paris
prosecutor's office launched an investigation into the disappearance of
EgyptAir flight MS804.
The
French military said one of its surveillance jets used to monitor irregular
migration across the Mediterranean Sea joined the search and rescue operation
led by the Egyptian armed forces, according to AP news agency.
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