May 19 (Reuters) - National carrier EgyptAir said on Thursday a flight from Paris to Cairo had disappeared from radar before entering Egyptian airspace.
"An official source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804, which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST), heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar," the airline said on its Twitter account.
CNN said the plane was carrying 59 passengers and 10 crew. A later Tweet by EgyptAir said the plane, which was travelling at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,280 metres), disappeared about 80 miles (130 km) before it was due to enter Egyptian airspace.
According to flightradar24.com, the plane was an Airbus A320 and its last known position was above the Mediterranean Sea. (Reporting by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Paul Tait)
BREAKING NEWS: EgyptAir flight MS804 carrying 69 people from Paris to Cairo disappears from radar
- Airbus A320 left the French capital at 11:09pm local time on Wednesday
- There were 59 passengers and 10 crew on board when it vanished
- Airline said contact was lost with the plane 10 miles into Egyptian air space
- The plane was travelling at 37,000ft when it disappeared
- Egyptian officials have sent out search and rescue teams
EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo has gone missing.
The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle at 11:09pm local time on Wednesday night and then disappeared off radar, three hours and 40 minutes into its journey.
The plane vanished in Egyptian airspace over the Mediterranean Sea, shortly before it was due to land.
It was supposed to arrive at 3:05am local time. There were 59 passengers and 10 crew on board.
EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo has gone missing. There were 69 people on board the A320 (model of plane that went down is pictured)
The airline tweeted: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST),heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar.'
They added that the plane disappeared 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at 37,000ft.
They said it was fading when air traffic control lost contact with the plane at 02:45 Cairo time, 15 minutes before it was set to land.
Egyptian officials have already sent out search and rescue teams.
Shortly after news of the disappearance broke, the Egyptair website crashed.
The Airbus A320 is a short-to-mid range aircraft is one of the most commonly used in the world that first entered circulation in 1986.
It has a capacity of 150 passengers and a range of more than 3,000 miles.
The airline revealed that the flight had gone missing after posting this Tweet early on Thursday morning
They then confirmed that the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace
A radar shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control
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