Egypt and Greece join forces in tracing EgyptAir flight MS804

Egypt and Greece on Thursday launched a joint search effort for the EgyptAir flight MS804, which had 66 people on board including a crew of 10.

The passenger jet was travelling from Paris to Cairo at an altitude of 37,000 feet when it vanished from radar 20 minutes before it was due to land on Wednesday night.

Egypt’s prime minister said it was too early to rule out or confirm anything over the reasons behind the missing plane.

“We cannot dismiss or confirm anything at the moment. All the search efforts have to be concluded and the committees have to do their work and then we will be able to say what exactly the situation is and the reasons,” said Sherif Ismail, Egypt’s Prim Minister.

French President François Hollande confirms crash of #EgyptAirMS804 and announces opening investigations in coordination with Egypt,Greece

— Daily News Egypt (@DailyNewsEgypt) May 19, 2016

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says France will be assisting in the search.

“We are in close contact with the Egyptian authorities, both civil and military. The Egyptian authorities have already sent air reconnaissance teams to the site, and France is ready to help with the search if the Egyptian authorities ask, of course. I think at this stage, no theory can be ruled out regarding the causes of the disappearance and unfortunately, we will wait for the news, there will without a doubt be several of our compatriots on this flight,” he said.

There are contradicting reports on what happened minutes before the plane disappeared,

Reuters