‘Vanished’ EgyptAir plane crashes off Greek island

An EgyptAir flight which disappeared from radar screens en route from Paris to Cairo early Thursday, crashed into the sea off the southern Greek island of Karpathos while in Egyptian airspace, a Greece aviation source told AFP.

“At around 0029 GMT (3:29 am) when it was in Egyptian airspace, the plane disappeared from Greek radars… it crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos,” the source told AFP.

The official said the last communication with the pilot was three minutes before the plane disappeared, and that there had been no distress call.

The Greek defence ministry said it had dispatched two search planes and a frigate to the area.

Twenty-six foreigners were among the 56 passengers, including 15 French citizens, a Briton and a Canadian, EgyptAir said.