EgyptAir came out with a statement saying the wreckage from missing flight MS804 had been found near Greece’s Karpathos Island but have now retracted it. EgyptAir vice-chairman Ahmed Adel told CNN, “We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still going on.”
The plane crashed while traveling from Paris to Cairo early Thursday morning. It was scheduled to land in Cairo Airport at 3.05am but lost contact with radar at 2.45am. There were 66 people on board including 53 adults and three children, plus 10 crew members consisting of three security members, five cabin crew members, the pilot, and the copilot.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed that an Australian-UK dual citizen was a passenger on board.
“I regretfully confirm that one of the passengers on EgyptAir flight, MS 804, en route from Paris to Cairo was an Australian-UK dual national.
We are working closely with UK authorities, which are taking the lead in the provision of consular assistance to the man’s family.
The Government is working with our partners and allies to understand the reasons behind the flight’s disappearance and presumed crash. It is too early to speculate on the cause of this incident.
My thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected.
Out of respect for the man’s family, the Government will not provide more details at this stage.”
Egypt’s aviation minister, Sherif Fathy, said in a news conference that an act of terror was more likely to be the cause of the crash than a technical failure.
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