Hollande: French Authorities Admit EgyptAir Passenger Jet Crashed

Local Editor

French President Francois Hollande confirmed Thursday that EgyptAir flight MS804 had crashed en route from Paris to Cairo, and said that no hypotheses to why the disaster took place could be excluded.

"It crashed. There were 66 people on board including 15 French nationals," the Elysee Palace said on Twitter, quoting Hollande. "No hypothesis is excluded."

However, currently there is no preferable version on reason of EgyptAir disappearance, Hollande added.

Francois Hollande, the French President, said authorities had been "mobilized" and inquiries have started.
"The truth will be found," he said, expressing his condolences to everyone involved. "No hypothesis is discounted, no hypothesis is privileged."

Earlier Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said he does not rule out the possibility of a terrorist act on board the EgyptAir passenger plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea earlier on Thursday.

"It's still too early to speak of the reasons for the disappearance of the aircraft," Ismail told journalists, adding that he does not exclude the possibility of a terrorist act on board.

Egypt Air Flight MS804 departed from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 23:09 GMT. The aircraft was heading for Cairo International Airport. According to the airline, there were a total of 66 people on board the plane, including 56 passengers.

Earlier French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that no assumption can be ruled out at this stage on the causes of the disappearance of the Airbus A320 of the EgyptAir airline.

"No hypothesis can be rejected at the current stage on the causes of this [aircraft's] disappearance," Valls told the RTL broadcaster.

For his part, Egypt's aviation minister said terror attack or technical problem cannot be ruled out as cause of an EgyptAir plane crash over the Mediterranean Sea.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team