The Egyptian military, on 21 May, published a video of its rescue team recovering debris suspected as being from the EgyptAir flight MS804 which crashed into the Mediterranean on earlier in the week. The Egyptian navy said the debris were found 290km (180.2 miles) north of the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria.

The military also announced it located some of the passengers belongings and is sweeping the area looking for the planes black boxes.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his condolences to the families of victims who were on board the flight after the military announced they found parts of the wreckage.

The presidency with utmost sadness and regret mourns the victims on aboard the EgyptAir flight who were killed after the plane crashed in the Mediterranean on its way back to Cairo from Paris, Sisis office said in a statement.

Frances air accident investigation agency said on 21 May that the EgyptAir jet sent a series of signals indicating that smoke had been detected on board before it crashed into the sea on Thursday, 19 May.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for civil aviation safety, BEA, said the signals did not indicate what caused the smoke or fire on board the plane, which plunged into the sea with 66 people on board as it was heading from Paris to Cairo.

But they offered the first clues as to what unfolded in the moments before the crash. One aviation source said that a fire on board would likely have generated multiple warning signals, while a sudden explosion may not have generated any.