Update on missing EgyptAir plane: Mostly Egyptian and French passengers

(Baonghean.vn) - Flight MS804 took off at 11:09 p.m. on May 18 and disappeared from radar screens as soon as it entered Egyptian airspace in the early morning of May 19.

Flight MS804's flight path before it disappeared from radar. Photo: Flightradar24.

Flight MS804 carried a total of 66 people: 56 passengers including 1 child and 2 infants and 10 crew members.

According to Le Monde, the nationalities of the 56 passengers on flight MS804 were 30 Egyptians, 15 French, 2 Iraqis, 1 Colombian, 1 Belgian, 1 Kuwaiti, 1 Saudi Arabian, 1 Sudanese, 1 Chadian, 1 Portuguese, 1 Algerian and 1 Canadian.

Ahmed Adel, vice president of EgyptAir, said radar contact with the plane was lost when it was 30 to 40 miles (48 to 64 kilometers) off the northern coast of Egypt. Adel told CNN that he had not received a distress call from the crew.

Data collected from two aircraft tracking agencies showed that there were no unusual factors immediately before the plane went missing. It is known that MS804 is an Airbus A320 aircraft that has been in use since July 2003.

Egypt's Ahram newspaper reported that the plane's last telephone call with the center before it disappeared was 10 minutes.

French authorities have now set up a crisis unit at Terminal 1 at Roissy Airport in Paris.

The airline said that the military and rescue boats were also mobilized to the Mediterranean area overnight. Greece also sent several rescue teams to join the search and locate survivors.

On the French government side, President Francois Hollande will hold a meeting to discuss this event scheduled to take place at 8:30 a.m. on May 19 (Paris time) at the Elysée Palace. Before that, Mr. Hollande met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. Both leaders agreed to cooperate closely to learn more about the missing plane as well as share the pain with the families affected by this incident.

Speaking about the cause of the plane's disappearance, French Prime Minister Valls said he did not rule out any possibility.

According to the latest information from an EgyptAir spokesman, the Egyptian flight control center received a distress signal at 4:26 a.m. Egypt time, before the plane lost contact on radar.

Chu Thanh

(According to Le Monde, Le Parisien, Le Figaro)