Personal belongings from passengers as well as other debris from the missing EgyptAir jet confirms that the airliner carrying 66 people had plunged into the water, the Egyptian navy said Friday.
The found wreckage from Flight 804 includes luggage, seats and body parts and was discovered about 180 miles off the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The plane disappeared from radar on Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. It was traveling from Paris to Cairo.
The revelation Friday came on the heels of discussion over whether wreckage had indeed been located. On Thursday, Greek authorities found debris, but EgyptAir said the material was not from Flight 804.
"[P]ossible terrorism appeared more likely than a catastrophic malfunction at 37,000 feet," a top Egyptian aviation official said, the Washington Post reported.
Meanwhile, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said a seat, luggage and "a body part" were among the debris, and the European Space Agency said that a possible oil slick was spotted in the crash area by a satellite.
While French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Aryault said Friday that there has been "absolutely no indication" as to why the plane went down - "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favored over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes," he told a French TV station - the focus in his country is on if a security breach occurred at Paris de Gaulle airport. According to reports, after the November Paris terrorist attacks, some de Gaulle staffers had their security clearance revoked over suspected terror links. There had been attempts by Islamists to recruit airport staff, Eric Moutet, a lawyer for some of those staff members, told the BBC.
"That is clear," he said. "There are people who are being radicalized in some of the trade unions, etc. The authorities have their work cut out with this problem."
As the investigation continues, the Egyptian navy is searching for two flight recorders that were aboard the plane.
Among the passengers and crew were 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one passenger each from the U.K., Belgium, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Portugal, Algeria, Canada and Kuwait.
