EgyptAir Flight Crashes Over Mediterranean: 'Terrorism More Likely Than Technical Failure,' Egyptian Officials Say

EgyptAir Flight MS804, a passenger plane traveling from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard, vanished from radar, the airline confirmed on Thursday.

The aircraft left Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 11:09 p.m. Wednesday night for what should have been a three-hour flight. The plane was flying at 37,000 feet over a Greek island when it went missing early Thursday morning, reports CNN.

French President Francois Hollande shared on Twitter that he was told EgyptAir Flight 804 “was lost and that it has crashed.”

An Egyptian search aircraft has spotted two objects in the water around 210 nautical miles southeast of the Greek island Crete, reports CNN.

It’s unclear at this point whether the objects are part of the missing plane, a spokesman for Greece’s Hellenic National Defense General Staff told the publication.

“We do not deny there is a possibility of terrorism or deny the possibility of technical fault. I will continue to use the term missing plane until we find any debris,” Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi said at a Cairo news conference.

At the same conference he said, “If you analyze this situation properly, the possibility of having different action aboard, of having a terror attack, is higher than having a technical problem.”

CNN reports that the Airbus A320 had 56 passengers, including two infants, and 10 crew members onboard. There were no Americans onboard, according to the airline.

Officials are investigating claims from a Greek merchant ship that there was “an explosion that lit up the sky” not far from where the plane was last reported.

Ayman Nassar, a reported family member of one of the passengers says he was told not to believe any “rumors.”

“They told us the plane had disappeared, and that they’re still searching for it,” Nassar told Reuters.

“They haven’t told us anything,” the mother of a flight attendant told the publication through tears.

Weather conditions were clear and calm in the area at the time, according to CBS.

A Greek official said the aircraft made two abrupt turns, swerving “90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right” before plunging.

According to the airline, a distress signal was detected around the area where the flight disappeared two hours after the plane vanished. However, investigators can’t confirm it came from Flight 804.

Greece is helping Egypt’s naval forces with search and rescue operations.

President Barack Obama has been briefed on the situation and has been asked to be updated throughout the day as the situation warrants, PEOPLE confirms.