- Title: France to help search for missing EgyptAir plane, foreign minister says
- Date: 19th May 2016
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF ELYSEE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, JEAN-MARC AYRAULT AND FRENCH TRANSPORT MINISTER, ALAIN VIDALIES, ON STEPS (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, JEAN-MARC AYRAULT, SAYING: "We are available to the relatives. It is our priority to keep them informed and of course we will do everything to find the plane, that's why we are in contact with the Egyptian authorities. The president of the Republic spoke to President (Abdel Fattah) Sisi. I myself will meet with my counterpart Sameh Shoukri in a few moments. We will of course get mobilised and we are available to the Egyptian authorities and ready to send our military means, our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane." (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH TRANSPORT MINISTER, ALAIN VIDALIES, SAYING: "The information we have at this time are only those linked to the disappearance of the aircraft as it entered Egypt's airspace. The checks that were made at the start allow us to confirm that there was no cargo on board the plane." AYRAULT AND VIDALIES STANDING BEHIND MICROPHONE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, JEAN-MARC AYRAULT, SAYING: "This night we learned about the disappearance of an EgyptAir aircraft - it was a regular flight going to Cairo with 56 people on board - as it entered the Egyptian air space. We can only imagine the anguish of the relatives, 15 French citizens were on board. The president of the Republic and the prime minister decided to gather all the relevant ministers for an emergency meeting." AYRAULT AND VIDALIES WALKING AWAY FRENCH AND EU FLAGS
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 09:17
- Keywords: France EgyptAir aircraft Jean-Marc Ayrault missing flight Egypt
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Air Accidents,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA0014IH3OLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:France plans to send boats and planes to help search for an EgyptAir aircraft that went missing en route from Paris to Cairo with 15 French citizens aboard, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Thursday (May 19), after a ministerial meeting with French President Francois Hollande.
Transport Minister Alain Vidalies added that there was no cargo on board the Airbus A320 passenger jet.
The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said. They included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, along with nationals from 10 other countries.
Officials with the airline and the Egyptian civil aviation department told Reuters they believed the jet had crashed into the sea.
However, it remained unclear whether the disappearance was due to technical failure or any other reason such as sabotage by ultra-hardline Islamists, who have targeted airports, airliners and tourist sites in Europe, Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries over the past few years.
The last fatal incident involving an EgyptAir aircraft was in May 2002, when a Boeing 737 crashed into a hill while on approach to Tunis-Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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