A BRITON is among the 66 people on board EgyptAir flight MS804 – authorities saying it did crash.
MISSING: An EgyptAir passenger plane
Egyptair flight MS804, which is carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew, has vanished while en route from Paris to Cairo.
According to sources, the plane did send a distress signal.
The aircraft, believed to be an Airbus A320, took off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport late on Wednesday night.
It was due to arrive at Cairo International Airport early on Thursday morning.
But it disappeared off radar at 37,000ft around 80 miles before it was due to enter Egyptian airspace.
The full list of passengers is:
- 30 Egyptian
- 15 French
- 2 Iraqi
- 1 British
- 1 Belgian
- 1 Sudanese
- 1 Chadian
- 1 Portuguese
- 1 Algerian
MAP: A map shows where EgyptAir Flight MS804 disappeared
Two babies and one other child were among the passengers.
Two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security personnel were also on board.
According to flightradar24.com, the plane's last known position was above the Mediterranean sea.
Search and rescue teams - including specialist teams and the Egyptian armed forces - have been deployed.
Ahmed Abdel, vice-chairman of EgyptAir's holding company, said there was no distress call from the plane.
He said: "Search and rescue has been dispatched and are now at the scene.
"Daylight has just broken around an hour ago, so we should get some information within the next hour."
He says search teams were informed the coordinates of where the aircraft lost contact and a rescue plane has arrived at that area.
This is between Athens and Egypt - about 30 to 40 miles north of the Egyptian coast.
Greece has joined the search and rescue operation.
Two aircraf - one C-130 and one early warning aircraft - have been dispatched.
They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.
VANISHED: A close-up shows the flight's last known position
Ihab Raslan, a spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation agency, said the Airbus A320 most likely crashed into the sea.
He also said the plane was about to enter Egyptian airspace when it disappeared from radar.
This contradicts the airline - which said the plane was 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace.
Last radio contact with the airliner was just 10 minutes before it disappeared - and the plane was just 20 minutes from its scheduled landing time.
EgyptAir said the captain has 6,275 flying hours - including 2,101 on the A320.
The copilot has 2,766 flying hours.
The plane was manufactured in 2003.
The disappearance will inevitably raise fears of terrorism.
It turned out it was blown up by Egyptian Islamic exremists linked to ISIS.
In March, an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt.
He was arrested after giving himself up.
France’s aviation authority could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to sources, the pilots spoke to Greek air traffic controllers as it passed over the country and did not report any problems.
More to follow.
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