By Ahmed Aboulenein and Amina Ismail

CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) – Egypt has despatched a robotic submarine to affix the hunt for an EgyptAir aircraft which crashed in among the deepest waters of the Mediterranean Sea with 66 individuals on board, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated on Sunday.

Ships and planes scouring the ocean north of Alexandria have discovered physique elements, private belongings and particles from the Airbus 320, however are nonetheless making an attempt to find the black field recorders that might make clear the reason for Thursday’s crash.

Sisi stated that underwater gear from Egypt’s offshore oil trade was being introduced in to assist the search.

“They have a submarine that can reach 3,000 metres under water,” he stated in a televised speech. “It moved today in the direction of the plane crash site because we are working hard to salvage the black boxes.”

An oil ministry supply stated Sisi was referring to a robotic submarine used principally to keep up offshore oil rigs. It was not clear whether or not the vessel would be capable of assist find the black bins, or can be utilized in later levels of the operation.

Air crash investigation consultants say the search groups have round 30 days to pay attention for pings despatched out as soon as each second from beacons hooked up to the 2 black bins. At this stage of the search they might usually use acoustic hydrophones, bringing in additional superior robots later to scan the seabed and retrieve any objects as soon as they’ve been discovered.

EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo vanished off radar screens early on Thursday because it entered Egyptian airspace over the Mediterranean. The 10 crew and 56 passengers included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals.

French investigators say that the aircraft despatched a collection of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board shortly earlier than it disappeared.

The indicators didn’t point out what precipitated the smoke or hearth, and aviation consultants haven’t dominated out both deliberate sabotage or a technical fault, however they supplied early clues as to what unfolded within the moments earlier than the crash.

“Until now all scenarios are possible,” Sisi stated in his first public remarks on the crash. “So please, it is very important that we do not talk and say there is a specific scenario.”

The crash was the third blow since October to hit Egypt’s journey trade, nonetheless reeling from political unrest following the 2011 rebellion that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

A suspected Islamic State bombing introduced down a Russian airliner after it took off from Sharm al-Sheikh airport in late October, killing all 224 individuals on board, and an EgyptAir aircraft was hijacked in March by a person sporting a pretend suicide belt.

Islamic State claimed duty for the Sharm al-Sheikh bombing inside hours however a purported assertion from the group’s spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, distributed on Saturday, made no point out of the crash.

ANGUISH OF RELATIVES

EgyptAir has instructed kinfolk of the victims that recovering and figuring out our bodies from the ocean might take weeks, including to the ache and uncertainty of grieving households.

Samar Ezzedine, 27 years outdated and newly wed, was one of many cabin crew on flight 804. Her mom Amal has sat within the foyer of a resort overlooking Cairo Airport, nonetheless ready for her daughter to return again.

“She is missing, who hosts a funeral for a missing person?” she murmured.

Samar’s aunt, Mona, stated Amal was reluctant to go dwelling and even transfer away from the resort door. “She doesn’t want to believe it … I told her to switch off her phone, but she said: What if Samar calls?”

An EgyptAir union appealed to Sisi to permit demise certificates to be issued for the victims, to keep away from the same old five-year delay within the case of lacking individuals which leaves kinfolk in a authorized limbo, together with over pensions.

In his speech on Sunday, Sisi stated the investigation wouldn’t be over rapidly, however promised it might be clear.

“This could take a long time but no one can hide these things. As soon as the results are out, people will be informed,” he instructed ministers and parliamentarians within the port metropolis of Damietta.

The October crash devastated Egyptian tourism, a foremost supply of overseas change for a rustic of 80 million individuals.

Tourism income within the first three months of the 12 months plunged by two thirds to $500 million from a 12 months earlier, and the newest incident might crush hopes for a swift restoration.

EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem stated the radius of the search zone was 40 nautical miles, however might be expanded. The radius is equal to an space of 5,000 sq. nautical miles (17,000 sq. km).

A European satellite tv for pc noticed a 2 km-long oil slick within the Mediterranean, about 40 km (20 nautical miles) southeast of the plane’s final recognized place, the European Space Agency stated. (Additional reporting by Abdelnasser Aboelfadl and Eric Knecht in Cairo, Tim Hepher in Paris; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.