KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty
Rescue teams have recovered the first two corpses thought to be from the crash of EgyptAir flight MS804, which went down in the Mediterranean Sea during the night.
The flight left Charles de Gaulle airport at 11:09pm yesterday and disappeared from radar surveillance at 2:45am, just as it entered Egyptian airspace.
Now the Al Arabia channel, quoting Greek sources, has reported that two bodies from the flight have been recovered.
The Greek army found wreckage off the island of Karpathos and the debris has been identified by the Greek authorities as belonging to the downed aircraft. Two fragments are mentioned, described as “large pieces of white and red plastic.” The area corresponds exactly to the place where the last transponder signal was emitted, according to reports.
Regarding the cause of the crash, both French and Egyptian authorities believe the probability of a terror attack to be higher than an equipment malfunction. Experts ruled out the use of portable surface-to-air missiles saying that the Airbus was out of the range of these weapons.
One scenario being advanced is that of a suicide bomber who could have placed a small explosive devise near one of the plane’s windows. The explosion at that altitude would cause a rapid decompression and easily result in the destruction of the aircraft.
Jean-Paul Troadec, former president of the French air accident investigation bureau (BEA), said there is “a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber. The idea of a technical accident when weather conditions were good, seems also possible but not that likely.”
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