Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said on Saturday it has not received any technical reports confirming the presence of explosive substances among the debris of an EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in May. The origin of these traces remains unclear and Egyptian judicial authorities did not allow French investigators to examine the debris in detail, Le Figaro said, citing a source close to the investigation. Egypt wishes to write a joint report with France to validate the presence of TNT on the debris. On Saturday, Basim Sami, head of the media center for the ministry, said he has no knowledge of the claims made by Le Figaro. EgyptAir flight MS804, an Airbus A320 plane, plunged into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19.

Source: Egypt Independent September 17, 2016 13:52 UTC