Egypt sends sub to search for black boxes

Associated Press

CAIRO

Egypt sent a submarine Sunday to join the hunt for the flight recorders from the EgyptAir jetliner that crashed in the Mediterranean and killed all 66 people aboard, while hundreds of Coptic Christian mourners filled a church in Cairo to pray for their relatives among the dead.

Mounting evidence pointed to a sudden and dramatic catastrophe that led to Thursday’s crash of Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, although Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said it “will take time” to establish what happened aboard the Airbus A320.

In his first public comments since the crash, el-Sissi cautioned against premature speculation.

“It is very, very important to us to establish the circumstances that led to the crash of that aircraft,” el-Sissi said in remarks broadcast live on Egyptian TV. “There is not one scenario that we can exclusively subscribe to. ... All scenarios are possible.”

A submarine belonging to the Oil Ministry was headed to the site about 180 miles north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria to join the search, el-Sissi said. The vessel can operate at a depth of 9,800 feet, he said.

Beside Egypt, ships and planes from Britain, Cyprus, France, Greece and the United States are taking part in the search for the debris from the aircraft, including its flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Some wreckage, including human remains, have been recovered already.