It’s an all too familiar scene: the worry, the tears, the anger.
The Egyptian military said Friday it had found passenger belongings and debris from EgyptAir Flight 804, which lost contact more than 24 hours earlier flying over the Mediterranean Sea on what should have been an easy 3½-hour trip from Paris to Cairo. The military said the wreckage was 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of the coastal city of Alexandria.
Dozens of family and friends of passengers aboard Flight 804 arrived Thursday at Cairo International Airport to await word, complaining of the way unreliable information has trickled out — the airline’s vice chairman initially said Thursday that the wreckage had been found in what later turned out to be a cruel false alarm.
They gathered at the EgyptAir In-Flight Center, where one man said he had four family members aboard the flight. But authorities attempted to shield relatives from the media, and talking to them directly was near impossible.
People took to social media to express their grief, their worries and their hopes
One man who called himself Mohamed Khalf asked for prayers.
“Kindly Pray for Egyptair Flight MS804…I have a friend on that plane,” his tweet said.
Murky information
A priest, Father Athanious, said he learned about the crash on the news. At the airport, his worst fear was confirmed: His friend Amgad Adib was on board.
“He was like a brother and a son to me,” he told journalists as he left Cairo airport’s special hall.
Adib was in his late 40s, a charitable businessman, the priest said.
Another man couldn’t help but vent his frustration.
“We learn from other countries what happened,” he screamed to journalists as he entered the hall with six other men.
They didn’t reveal the name of their loved ones believed to be on the plane, only complaining of the lack of information.
“My son,” one of the men screamed, his tired voice preventing him from finishing the sentence.
One family left the Cairo family holding room and complained, with anger and tears, there was no information about what had happened or who had been on the flight.
Memories of last year’s Paris attacks
But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said authorities were trying to do their best to keep families informed.
“It is a terrible ordeal. I was at Charles de Gaulle (Airport) yesterday,” Ayrault said. “I saw families arriving in a state of total anguish so we have to do everything we can so that the truth is rapidly unveiled.”
The memories of last year’s terror attacks that left 130 people dead in the French capital are all too fresh for those awaiting news on the EgyptAir flight, though French officials have not speculated what brought the plane down.
According to a list from EgyptAir, the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French nationals, one Briton, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Chadian, one Portuguese from Algeria, and one Sudanese. Ten crew members were on board, the airline said.
The government of Canada confirmed that two of its citizens were on the flight.
And British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tweeted his concern over a Briton aboard the plane. He did not name the person.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop issued a statement confirming that the Briton on board was a dual British-Australian national. “Out of respect for the man’s family, the government will not provide more details at this stage,” she said.