EgyptAir crash: Wreckage found in Mediterranean

Wreckage of the EgyptAir flight that went missing over the Mediterranean last month has been found, Egyptian investigators say.

A statement said “several main locations of the wreckage” had been identified.

A deep sea search vessel had also sent back the first images of the wreckage, the statement added.

There were 66 people on board flight MS804 when it crashed on 19 May while flying from Paris to Cairo.

The Airbus A320 plane vanished from Greek and Egyptian radar screens, apparently without having sent a distress call.

The Egyptian investigation committee said that investigators on board the John Lethbridge search vessel, which has been contracted by the Egyptian government, would now draw up a map of the wreckage distribution.

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

Signals emitted by the recorders are expected to expire by 24 June, experts have warned.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery.

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. Satellite data revealed that smoke detectors went off in the toilet and the aircraft’s electrics, minutes before the plane’s signal was lost.

According to Greek investigators, the plane turned 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right, dropping from 11,300m (37,000ft) to 4,600m (15,000ft) and then 3,000m (10,000ft) before it was lost from radar.