Tri-Service

RAF And RFA Lyme Bay Join EgyptAir Search Effort

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship Lyme Bay and an RAF C-130 Hercules aircraft have joined the search efforts for the EgyptAir flight that disappeared over the Mediterranean on Thursday.

It comes as Egyptian officials announce that wreckage from the crashed aircraft has been found in the Mediterranean.

Flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers and 10 crew members from Paris to Cairo - went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's coastline, or around 175 miles offshore, after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

"To support the ongoing search efforts, I have directed RFA Lyme Bay to the area, and I have also offered a C-130 Hercules aircraft from RAF Akrotiri to support the Egyptian-led effort. We stand ready to offer further assistance should it be required."

"Our thoughts remain with the families of those on board EgyptAir flight MS804 as they await further information."

The Lyme Bay was following the route of MS804's flightpath south east of Crete, but by mid-morning on Friday had not found any traces of the plane, said Downing Street.

The RAF C-130 conducted one surveillance flight from the UK airbase at Akrotiri, Cyprus, on Thursday evening, and was carrying out a second on Friday morning.

Egypt's army spokesman said debris and passenger belongings have been located 180 miles off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt.

Airport officials in Egypt said investigators will inspect the debris and personal belongings that have been recovered.

The Briton on board, Richard Osman, a father-of-two, was described by his younger brother Alastair as a workaholic and a very admirable person who "never deviated from the straight path".

An RAF C-130 Hercules has joined the search efforts

Mr Osman, a geologist, had a master's degree in Mining Geology from the Camborne School of Mines in Penryn.

Before it disappeared from radar screens at around 2.45am Cairo time (12.45am GMT), the plane spun all the way around and suddenly lost altitude.

Egyptian and Russian officials said it may have been brought down by terrorists, and there are no signs of survivors.

Civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the disaster was still being investigated but the possibility it was a terror attack "is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure".

Alexander Bortnikov, chief of Russia's top domestic security agency, said: "In all likelihood it was a terror attack."

Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said. The airline said the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.