Greek officials said on Friday morning that body parts and debris from the missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 have been found in the Mediterranean Sea, about five miles south of where the aircraft vanished from radar.
“Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said a body part, two seats and at least one suitcase had been found,” according to the BBC.
“Egyptian officials also said wreckage and passenger belongings were spotted about 180 miles north off the coast of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt,” reports ABC News.
The European Space Agency also reported finding a “potential oil slick” with a satellite passing over the area. The BBC quotes ESA officials saying they are not certain if that possible oil slick was related to Flight MS804.
Contrary to some early reports, ABC notes that U.S. satellites did not see any indication of an explosion along the plane’s flight path, according to American officials.
Although officials from France, Egypt, Greece, and the U.S. continue to caution against drawing conclusions about the cause of the apparent crash before investigations are concluded, the BBC reports that France has focused on possible security violations at Charles de Gaulle airport, from which the flight originated.
Eric Moutet, lawyer for airport staffers who lost their security clearances after the Paris massacre in November, said it was “clear” there are “people who are being radicalized in some of the trade unions, etc.”
“The authorities have their work cut out with this problem,” Moutet observed.
On Friday, the UK Daily Mail ran a lengthy profile of some passengers and crew feared dead from the Flight 804 crash, including a flight attendant who, early in her career, jokingly posted a picture of “an air hostess dressed smartly in wet clothes pulling a carry-on suitcase out of the water as a passenger jet plunges into the sea behind her.”
“Other victims identified are the co-pilot whose family sacrificed everything so he could learn to fly and a cabin manager who gave up a successful TV acting career to become an air hostess,” the Daily Mail wrote.