EgyptAir MS804 as it happened: Wreckage of Cairo-bound Airbus carrying 66 people discovered off Greek Island

This concludes IBTimes UK's coverage of EgyptAir flight MS804.

EgyptAir has confirmed that wreckage of the flight was recovered in an online statement:

"[The] Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation has just received an official letter from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declaring the finding of wreckage of the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Karpathos Island.

"EgyptAir sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804. Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Investigation Team in co-operation with the Greek counterpart are still searching for other remains of the missing plane."

The Vice President of EgyptAir has told CNN that wreckage has just been found.

The airline had earlier rebuffed reports from Greek officials stating that debris from flight MS804 had been found in the Mediterranean.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has briefly commented on the missing EgyptAir flight on LBC radio.

"This is obviously a dreadful event. We don't know very much right now about what's happened," he told the London radio station.

"We know that there was one British national on the plane. It looks as if it has gone down in the Mediterranean."

The Prime Minister declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the missing plane.

"We simply don't know but all the experts are talking to each other and trying to work out what has happened and when we know more, we'll be able to say more," he said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has declined to comment on the fate of EgyptAir flight MS804,

"Relevant authorities are doing everything they can to try and find out what the facts are of what happened today. I have no more knowledge than others at this point with respect to those facts," Reuters news agency quoted Kerry as saying.

EgyptAir - which the the Egyptian government has said would lead on all official information relayed about the missing flight - has said statements by Greek officials to several news outlets about the discovery of two pieces of debris is incorrect.

The United States has also sent military resources to aid the Egypt-led mission to search for the plane. The US Navy has said it has dispatched a P-3 Orion to look for further signs of the plane.

The Secretary of State for Defence has said Britain has offered a C-130 Hercules aircraft and to support Egyptian authorities in the search operation. He said: "Our thoughts remain with the families of those on board EgyptAir flight MS804 as then await further information."

The Carmathen Journal has reported the one Briton missing in the Flight MS804 crash is believed to be Richard Osman a 40-year-old man who grew up in Carmarthen, Wales.

Family and friends have led tributes to Osman on social media and a flight manifest with his name has also emerged online.

Breaking: US officials are saying that the early indications are that a bomb took down the stricken flight, according to CNN

Tarek Wahba, an Egyptian ship captain whose vessel, the Maersk Ahram, participated in search and rescue operations after the disappearance the plane shared images on Facebook purportedly showing debris from the flight. The unverifiable images show an orange object floating in the water.

There is also unverified video footage appearing to show floating in the sea:

Britain is stepping up its efforts to locate further debris. The Royal Navy's RFA Lyme Bay has made its way to the area with offers of further assistance.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said in a statement: "My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those missing following the disappearance of EgyptAir's flight MS804.

"We are in close contact with Egyptian and French authorities and have offered the Egyptian authorities our support in their search and rescue efforts.

"We know that one British passport holder boarded the flight in Paris and our staff are providing support and assistance to the family at this difficult time.

"We will continue to help in any way we can."

Airbus said the aircraft was delivered to EgyptAir in 2003 and had logged 48,000 flight hours before it "was lost" over the Mediterranean, AP has reported. The European plane-maker said in a statement Thursday that it had engines made by Swiss-based engine consortium IAE, and had the serial number 2088.

More from AP on the debris of EgyptAir flight: Two orange items believed to be from the missing EgyptAir flight were recovered 230 miles (370 kilometers) south-southeast of the island of Crete but still within the Egyptian air traffic control area.

One of the items was oblong, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The believed debris of the EgyptAir flight MS804 is reported by the BBC to have been two pieces of plastic. They were discovered by a Greek frigate within the initial search area around Karpathos.

The Russian intelligence agency the FSB has said the crash was most likely caused a terror attack.

Russia's Interfax news agency said the plane's disappearance was "likely to be linked to a terrorist attack," quoting the head of the country's FSB security service.

Speaking to the BBC, a French air traffic controller has described the descent of flight EgyptAir flight MS804 was "rapid" and "very sudden". He added that the crew were "not able to respond to the rules" because of how quickly the incident took place.

The debris of the missing flight has been located just south of the Greek Island of Karpathos.

France's President Francois Hollande has said the EgyptAir flight has crashed, in contradiction with statements from Egyptian officials who have said they will describe the plane as missing until further information becomes available.

Following a meeting of Egypt's National Security Council, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the country's authorities have said they will continue to collaborate with their French and Greek counterparts as they search for the missing flight.

The Egyptian government will provide to assistance to the families of those missing in the presumed crash, Sisi's office has said in a statement. The most up to date information will be made available through EgyptAir's crisis centre

More pictures of the families of the missing EgyptAir flight passengers have emerged as they arrive at Cairo airport to get updates on the developing situation.

At a press conference in Cairo, the Egyptian government said it was too early to rule out terrorism or a technical fault as the cause of the plane's disappearance.

Its aviation minister added he would refer to the plane as "missing" until debris is found, which contrasts with president Hollande's assertion it has crashed. The minister has also advised relatives and families to watch TV for updates.

The latest reports are that the plane swerved left and right before dramatically losing altitude and disappearing off radar.

Greek air traffic controllers attempted to contact the cockpit for up to 10-12 minutes but were met with radio silence. This happened while the plane was just 20 minutes from its destination, Cairo.

The last time controllers spoke to the flight deck the aircraft did not seem to be in any danger.

Here is a re-cap of everything we know so far at 12 noon:

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump claims the disappearance was down to a terrorist attack:

Speaking at a press conference, French president Francois Hollande said the plane was "damaged...and lost" and that no theory about its disappearance could be ruled out.

"Poorly handled"

Writing from Cairo, Farid Farid tells IBTimesUK of the confused investigation by Egyptian authorities.

"Officials are handling it very poorly as expected - as you can see, an Egyptian army spokesman denied that a distressed signal was sent after EgyptAir said they did."

Reuters are reporting Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail saying it is too early to come to any conclusions on the fate of the plane and its 66 passengers.

Speaking to reporters at Cairo airport, he said: "Search operations are ongoing at this time for the airplane in the area where it is believed to have lost contact.

Asked by a journalist if he could rule out that terrorists were behind the incident, Ismail said: "We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause."

The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a meeting of the country's National Security Council to address the stricken flight.

Those missing on flight MS804 come from 12 different nations including Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Canada as well as France, Egypt and Britain. The French government has published an emergency number for its crisis centre:

This video shows how vessels in the area have been directed toward MS804's last recorded position:

This report from 7 News in Sydney features unverified footage purportedly showing a fireball trail across the sky near to where MS804 went missing near the Greek island of Karpathos.

The French military says a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants has been diverted to help in the search effort, joining vessels and aircraft from Greece and Egypt.

On the London Stock Exchange, TUI shares are down 3%, EasyJet has slumped 1.8% and British Airways owner International Airlines Group shares have lost 1.5% of their value.

Shares in Thomas Cook are down 17% this morning but that loss has been compounded by lower summer bookings.

The Foreign Office has updated its earlier statement:

"We are very concerned by the disappearance of EgyptAir MS804 this morning.

"Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected and we are working closely with the Egyptian and French authorities to confirm more information.

"Our staff are in contact with the family of a British national believed to be onboard and are providing support."

A number of vessels have sailed to the supposed crash site to help the search effort:

Airbus has released a statement:

Airbus regrets to confirm the loss of an Egyptair A320, flight ‪#‎MS804‬. Our concerns go to all those affected.

Airbus regrets to confirm that an A320 operated by Egyptair was lost at around 02:30 am (Egypt local time) today over the Mediterranean sea. The aircraft was operating a scheduled service, Flight MS 804 from Paris, France to Cairo, Egypt.

The aircraft involved, registered under SU-GCC was MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 2088 delivered to Egyptair from the production line in November 2003. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 48,000 flight hours. It was powered by IAE engines. At this time no further factual information is available.

In line with ICAO annex 13, Airbus stands-by ready to provide full technical assistance to French Investigation Agency - BEA - and to the Authorities in charge of the investigation.

The first A320 entered service in March 1988. At the end of April 2016 over6700 A320 Family aircraft were in operation worldwide. To date, the entire fleet has accumulated nearly 180 million flight hours in over 98 million flights.

Our concerns go to all those affected.

Reports: Plane crashed off Greek island of Karpathos, 10 minutes into Egyptian airspace

Officials in Cairo will hold a press conference at 11.30am (GMT) when they are expected to give an update on the search for MS804.

Relatives of the missing passengers, 15 of whom are French, have arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport while they wait for updates. French authorities have now also joined the search alongside their Egyptian and Greek counterparts.

The Egyptian army has in the last half hour denied a distress call was received by the military

Speaking on Sky News, retired British Airways pilot Alastair Rossenchein said of the 37,000ft altitude the plane was at that it is supposed to be "the safest part of the flight" and that the pilot would have been preparing for descent.

Asked of comparisons between this incident and the Airbus A321 bomb attack over Sinai in October 2015, Rossenchein highlighted that the explosive device was smuggled on board in Egypt and that security in Paris was much better.

He said there was "always the chance it could have been a hijacking" but reminded viewers most accidents are technical or flight crew errors.

Egyptian prime minister Sherif Ismail has arrived at the emergency operations centre to monitor the search, which is being assisted by a Greek plane. He cut short a visit to Jeddah and has been briefed on the investigation.

MS804 went off radars two minutes after leaving Greek airspace, the Greek civil aviation chief said

The Foreign Office has released a statement following news one Briton was on board the missing EgyptAir flight:

Following reports that Egypt Air flight MS804 has gone missing en route from Paris to Cairo, we are in urgent contact with the local authorities in Paris and Cairo to obtain further information

News is emerging that Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority received a distress call from Flight MS804 before it went missing on radar over the Mediterranean.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been speaking to RTL radio. He said: "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. At this stage, no theory can be ruled out regarding the causes of the disappearance."

Greece is reportedly probing reports about some islanders sighting a ball of fire in the sky.

Here's a tweet from NYT's correspondent Rukmini Callimachi, who keeps a close eye on jihadist networks.

Multiple reports, including the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters, cited an airline spokesperson speaking to SkyNews Arabia speculating that the flight could have crashed into the sea. This is still speculation and there has been no official word on it as yet.

Greece has deployed a frigate and two military aircraft as part of the search operation.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has insisted "no theory can be ruled out" at this point, according to the AFP news agency.

To clear the confusion about where exactly the flight went missing, an EgyptAir spokesperson has said the passenger jet lost contact while it was flying above the Mediterranean Sea.

A statement from the airline read: "EgyptAir A320 aircraft flight number MS804 lost contact with radar above the Mediterranean sea about 280km (175 miles) from the Egyptian seacoast at 2.30am [local time] as the flight was expected to arrive Cairo airport at 3.15am."

Earlier it was thought to be 50kms from the Egyptian coast.

Family members of the passengers have gathered at the Cairo airport. The airline said they are attending them.

Manufacturer Airbus sent a tweet saying it has "no further details" but "will provide further information when available."

Among the 56 passengers were one child and two babies, the airline has said.

The EgyptAir released the nationalities of the passengers aboard the passenger jet.

• 30 Egyptian
• 15 French
• 2 Iraqi
• 1 British
• 1 Belgian
• 1 Sudanese
• 1 Chadian
• 1 Portuguese
• 1 Algerian

Search and rescue measures are underway as Egyptian forces have been deployed to find the missing aircraft. Greek forces have also now joined the operation, according to the Associated Press.

An EgyptAir aircraft carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew members on board has disappeared from radars, while en route from Paris to Cairo. Search and rescue measures are currently under way.