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World / Middle East

Egypt prime minister says cannot rule out terrorism behind vanished plane

Published: 19 May 2016 - 10:55 am | Last Updated: 01 Nov 2021 - 09:50 am
Peninsula

A French officer of the Police aux Frontieres (PAF - Borders Police) stands guard at Roissy Charles de Gaule airport near Paris, France, 19 May 2016. According to media reports quoting Egyptair on 19 May 2016, EgyptAir Airbus A320 Flight MS804 disappeared off radar some 10 miles (16km) after entering Egypt's airspace. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT

 

CAIRO: Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that the search was underway to find the missing EgyptAir plane and it was too early to rule out any explanation for the incident, including terrorism.
“Search operations are ongoing at this time for the airplane in the area where it is believed to have lost contact,” he told reporters at Cairo airport.
Asked by a journalist if he could rule out that terrorists were behind the incident, Ismail said: “We cannot exclude anything at this time or confirm anything. All the search operations must be concluded so we can know the cause.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a national security council meeting on Thursday morning, a statement from his office said. It did not say if the meeting would discuss the plane. 
REUTERS