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Europe

The Latest: French officials: cause of disappearance unknown

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Police officers patrol at Charles de Gaulle airport, outside of Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete early Thursday morning, Egyptian and Greek officials said. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) (The Associated Press)

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    In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, an Egyptian plane searches in the Mediterranean Sea for the missing EgyptAir flight 804 plane which crashed after disappearing from the radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. The Egyptian army said Friday, May 20, 2016 that it has found wreckage of the missing Airbus 320 (290 kilometers) north of the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Logo in top left corner of the Egyptian Defense Ministry. Arabic at right reads, "The missing plane." (AP Photo/Egyptian Defense Ministry) (The Associated Press)

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    A Transportation Security Administration K9 official walks with a security dog, Thursday, May 19, 2016 through a ticketing area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – The Latest on the disappearance of EgyptAir flight 804 (all times local):

8:45 a.m.

France's foreign minister and a top transport official say there is still no sign of what brought down a Paris-Cairo EgyptAir flight in the Mediterranean.

Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Friday on France-2 television there is "absolutely no indication" of the cause.

The junior minister for transport, Alain Vidalies, said on France-Info radio that "no theory is favored" at this stage and urged "the greatest caution."

A French military Falcon jet is helping in the search for debris. Vidalies said France could offer undersea search equipment and experts.

Amid fears it was an extremist attack, Vidalies defended security at Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying staff badges are revoked if there is the slightest security doubt.

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8:15 a.m.

The search is continuing for missing EgyptAir flight 804, which disappeared from the radar while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo.

Authorities are scouring a wide area south of the Greek island of Crete on Friday to search for wreckage, over 24 hours after the Airbus 320 lost contact.

The Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos says that the plane swerved wildly before plummeting into the sea.

The Egyptian military says that no distress call was received from the pilot. The country's aviation minister Sherif Fathi says the likelihood the plane was brought down by a terror attack is "higher than the possibility of a technical failure."

The distressed relatives of those on board have spent the night in a hotel in Cairo while they await news.