CAIRO—Egyptian air and naval forces have found some of the passengers’ “personal belongings” and debris of EgyptAir flight 804, which crashed while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo, the army said Friday.
The debris was found around 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of the port city of Alexandria, Egyptian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. Egyptian jets and naval vessels continued to search for further debris from the downed Airbus 320, he said.
A team of Egyptian investigators led by Ayman el-Mokadam — along with French and British investigators and an expert from Airbus — will inspect what the army has found, Egyptian officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
The plane fell off the radar at 2.45 a.m. local time on Thursday morning while it was crossing the Mediterranean sea.
The office of Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, issued a statement expressing its condolences to the relatives of the 66 killed. It said the presidency “expressed its deep regret and sadness for the victims” of EgyptAir flight 804. “God give great mercy and host them in his heaven,” it added.
The statement marked the first official recognition by Egypt’s government that the missing plane has crashed.
