Debris from the missing EgyptAir flight MS804 has been found in the Mediterranean, the Egyptian military and national airline has confirmed.
The Greek authorities have confirmed the sad discovery.
GReek MoD confirms bodies, #MS804 plane parts and backages found 5 miles south of spot where #EgyptAir flight went off radar
— Anthee Carassava (@antheecarassava) May 20, 2016
There have been lots of conflicting reports about the search operation over the last 24 hours. EgyptAir had said last night that debris was discovered near the Greek island of Karpathos, but the airline’s vice president, Ahmed Adel, later walked back that statement by saying: “We stand corrected. [The debris] is not our aircraft”.
Egyptian, French, Greek, British and American navy, air force and army personnel are continuing to search the sea north of Egypt’s coast.
Searchers are in a race against time and the sea to reach the wreckage of the #EgyptAir jet https://t.co/YoX0O3gvEe pic.twitter.com/99cpbWJMJU
— Bloomberg (@business) May 19, 2016
Egyptian officials also state that the plane was more likely to have been brought down by a terrorist act than a technical fault – but no terror group has claimed responsibility for the disaster yet.
Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy says there could be a "terrorist act" or mechanical issue behind #EgyptAir https://t.co/wLsPXtgiqC
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 19, 2016
The flight from Paris to Cairo that went off-radar in the early hours of Thursday morning, and there was confusion and concern as to its whereabouts and the wellbeing of those onboard.
It was soon confirmed that the plane carrying 66 passengers and crew went down overnight in the region of the Greek Dodecanese islands.
More details are emerging about some of the passengers on board:
The #EgyptAir crash victims: What we know about the 66 people on board https://t.co/T46wfOxd5P #MS804 pic.twitter.com/pf8sSGAFBn
— CNN (@CNN) May 19, 2016
The British passenger has been named as 40-year-old Richard Osman, who is believed to work as a geologist and is married with two young daughters.
His second child was born just a few weeks ago.
British passenger on EgyptAir flight named as 40-year-old father of two Richard Osman https://t.co/ScLaD1WbNV pic.twitter.com/8LLIoRDmWc
— LBC (@LBC) May 19, 2016
Mr Osman’s TV host namesake tweeted his condolences when the news emerged:
My deepest condolences to the family and friends of Richard Osman who died onboard the EgyptAir flight. My thoughts are with you.
— Richard Osman (@richardosman) May 19, 2016
CNN has put together this timeline of the flight’s last moments:
A timeline of the final moments of #EgyptAir Flight 804 https://t.co/oJ9jJHnRxu pic.twitter.com/GBZOBmlPgs
— CNN (@CNN) May 19, 2016
EgyptAir also released information about the flight’s captain. He is named as Mohamed Said Shoukair, and has 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 on the A320. The copilot is named Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed, and has 2,766 flying hours. The plane was manufactured in 2003.
Facebook added "Remembering" on the profile of #MS804 #EgyptAir pilot. pic.twitter.com/hw5js0Y41W
— The Big Pharaoh (@TheBigPharaoh) May 20, 2016
Meanwhile, economist Mohamed El Dahshan made this flowchart to draw attention to how the media and internet commentators approach developing stories like the EgyptAir plane crash.
I made a flowchart to help you decide whether to write that tweet about #MS804 (or other crises).
You're welcome! pic.twitter.com/rVA8cELY0C— Mohamed El Dahshan (@eldahshan) May 19, 2016
“Some armchair analysts just love to pass for serious pundits, pontificating with absolutely zero knowledge on the subject,” he told BuzzFeed News. “People I personally know know nothing about the matter. And some readers will read, retweet, and spread their nonsense.”
