- Title: No hypothesis being excluded in EgyptAir investigation - French FM
- Date: 20th May 2016
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MAY 20, 2016) (REUTERS) CARS DRIVING ALONG STREET (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS RESIDENT, OLIVIER HAMEL, SAYING: "The thing that surprised me is that it was a plane with just 66 people on board that was chosen, and not one that was more full. That's what really surprised me, because in general when they crash planes, they choose planes that are full with 300 people rather than ones with 66 people. So what I think is that there was perhaps a security breach on a night time flight to put a bomb on board, and they seized the opportunity, the terrorists." PEOPLE WALKING OUT OF METRO STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN TOURIST FROM COLOGNE, BARBARA, SAYING: "Why it happened, we don't know. We are tourists in Paris and we travelled by train, and this was on purpose because we don't like to fly after so much accidents in the air." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS RESIDENT, JULIE USZPOLEWICZ, SAYING: "On the one hand, we need to live, we need to continue to walk around and take public transport. I think the same dangers exist no matter which capital city in Europe you're in, in Paris or wherever there are the same dangers, so to speak. We need to continue to stay here and do what we did before." PEOPLE WALKING PAST KIOSK FRENCH NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES, (L-R) "AUJOURD'HUI EN FRANCE" WITH HEADLINE READING (French): "THE LIVES TORN APART BY THE EGYPTAIR FLIGHT", "LIBERATION" WITH HEADLINE READING (French): "RADIO SILENCE" AND "LE MONDE" WITH HEADLINE READING (French): "PARIS TO CAIRO: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CRASH" FRONT PAGES OF "LIBERATION" AND "LE MONDE" FRONT PAGE OF "LE MONDE" FRONT PAGES OF "AUJOURD'HUI EN FRANCE" AND "LIBERATION"
- Embargoed: 4th June 2016 08:55
- Keywords: Paris EgyptAir MS804 plane crash Airbus Jean-Marc Ayrault
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Air Accidents,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA0024IM2CZR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said during a televised interview on Friday (May 20) that French and Egyptian authorities were working together closely to investigate what happened to missing EgyptAir Flight MS804, and that all hypotheses were being considered.
"All hypotheses are being examined; there is no specific one being favoured, because we have had no indication of the causes of the accident, and we're still searching for the plane debris. As you've seen, France is contributing to search efforts, along with Egypt, Greece and other countries. We've already sent one plane, and we'll send another. We have to find the debris and analyse it -- and of course the black boxes too, because we want to know the truth, the whole truth," Ayrault said during an appearance on France 2's "Les 4 Verites".
Search teams continued to scour the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, hunting for wreckage of the EgyptAir jet that disappeared on Thursday (May 19) under circumstances that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack.
No group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 that was flying from Paris to Cairo.
But the possibility of another attack on French soil has once again ignited fears ahead of the upcoming Euro 2016 soccer tournament and the Tour de France.
"Everything has been done to reinforce the security of French citizens everywhere. There has also been a motion in parliament to reinforce the penal code taking in certain elements from the state of emergency. France is protecting itself against the threat, and the country owes that protection to all the French people, to all visitors, for example those coming to participate in Euro 2016, all tourists. It's a general action to protect people," Ayrault said.
Flight MS804 was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with citizens of 10 other countries. A320s normally seat 150 people.
"The thing that surprised me is that it was a plane with just 66 people on board that was chosen, and not one that was more full. That's what really surprised me, because in general when they crash planes, they choose planes that are full with 300 people rather than ones with 66 people. So what I think is that there was perhaps a security breach on a night time flight to put a bomb on board, and they seized the opportunity, the terrorists," said Olivier Hamel, a Paris resident.
Meanwhile the disappearance of the aircraft dominated France's front pages on Friday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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