Debris believed to be from missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 has been found near the Greek island of Karpathos, the airline confirmed.
The passenger plane was traveling from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard, when it swerved abruptly and vanished from traffic control radar early Thursday morning in what officials say could be a potential terrorist attack.
EgyptAir Vice Chairman Ahmed Adel said the rescue operation was "turning into a search and recovery," mission, although he did not divulge more information on the condition of the debris, which includes life jackets and plastic materials, reports CNN.
"Our main concern right now is taking care of the family and friends of all those who perished. We are now in the process of contacting next of kin. Once that process is complete, we will release the passenger manifest," Adel told the news outlet.
Egyptian officials suggest that a terrorist attack is more likely to have been the cause of the plane's disappearance than is a technical problem.
"We do not deny there is a possibility of terrorism or deny the possibility of technical fault. I will continue to use the term missing plane until we find any debris," Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi said at a Cairo news conference.
At the same conference he said, "If you analyze this situation properly, the possibility of having different action aboard, of having a terror attack, is higher than having a technical problem."
U.S. government officials are operating under the belief that EgyptAir Flight MS804 was taken down by a bomb – although this theory could change with further investigations, reports CNN.
The aircraft left Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 11:09 p.m. Wednesday night for what should have been a three-hour flight. The plane was flying at 37,000 feet over a Greek island when it went missing. Fifty-six passengers were aboard with 10 cabin crew members and security officers. None of the passengers were American, reports CNN.
Weather conditions were clear and calm in the area at the time, according to CBS.
A Greek official said the aircraft made two abrupt turns, swerving "90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right" before plunging first to 15,000 feet and then 10,000 feet before vanishing from the radar completely.
Little is known about the fate of the passengers on the EgyptAir plane, but more than 30 relatives arrived at Cairo International Airport to await updates.
Father Athanious says his friend Amgad Adib was on the plane.
"He was like a brother and a son to me," the priest said to news outlets at the scene.
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