A passenger plane carrying 66 people, including a Briton, has crashed near the Greek island of Karpathos, according to reports.
EgyptAir Flight MS804, travelling from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar 10 miles inside Egyptian air space at 2.30am Cairo time (1.30am BST).
The flight had taken off just under three-and-a-half hours earlier from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Reports claim it crashed near Karpathos, which is around 50 miles east of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean.
A major search and rescue operation has been launched by Egyptian and Greek authorities to find the remains of the aircraft, with reports of a flash in the sky over the Mediterranean.
Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said.
The airline added that the country’s prime minister Sherif Ismail had arrived at its Cairo Airport crisis centre and received a detailed briefing.
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.
The French government said President Francois Hollande spoke with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone, and they agreed to “closely co-operate to establish the circumstances” in which the flight disappeared.
French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that it had offered military assistance to Egypt to help with the search.
The UK Foreign Office said it could not confirm that a Briton was on board.
A spokeswoman said: “Following reports that EgyptAir Flight MS804 has gone missing en route from Paris to Cairo, we are in urgent contact with the authorities in Paris and Cairo to obtain further information.”
EgyptAir has provided free contact numbers for families concerned for relatives. From outside Egypt, anyone concerned should call + 202 2598 9320.
