EgyptAir plane crashes in Mediterranean Sea

EgyptAir officials say a missing plane is believed to have crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, Reuters reports.

A Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the “possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed”, hours after the flight was due to land in Cairo.

The flight was 10 miles into Egyptian airspace when it disappeared at 2.30am local time (3:45am MSK) after taking off three-and-a-half hours earlier from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

"An official source at EgyptAir stated that Flight MS804, which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST), heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar," the airline said on its official Twitter account.

The airline said 66 passengers and crew were on board, including 30 Egyptians, 15 French passengers, two Iraqis, and one passenger from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian state newspaper Ahram reported no distress call was made and the last contact was 10 minutes before the plane disappeared.

A search and rescue effort was being mounted by Egyptian and Greek authorities.