16 Jun 2016

Wreckage of EgyptAir flight found

8:55 am on 16 June 2016

The wreckage of EgyptAir flight MS804 has been found in the Mediterranean, Egyptian investigators say.

The Airbus A320 disappeared with 66 people on board last month during a flight from Paris to Cairo.

A statement from Egyptian investigators said "several main locations of the wreckage" had been identified.

Searchers have been looking for the EgyptAir plane's wreckage since it vanished in May.

Searchers have been looking for the EgyptAir plane's wreckage since it vanished in May. Photo: AFP

There were 66 people on board the Airbus A320 when it crashed on 19 May while flying from Paris to Cairo.

It vanished from Greek and Egyptian radar screens, apparently without having sent a distress call.

The Egyptian investigation committee said that investigators on board a search vessel in the area would now draw up a map of the wreckage distribution spots.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery.

Earlier this month, search teams said signals from one of the "black box" flight recorders had been detected.

A terror attack has not been ruled out but no extremist group has claimed the downing of the plane.

Analysts say human or technical error is also a possibility. Flight data revealed that smoke detectors went off in the toilet and the aircraft's electrics, minutes before the plane's signal was lost.

- BBC

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