Debris from the missing EgyptAir flight has been found floating in the Mediterranean, officials say.

Flight MS804 was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it vanished early on Thursday.

Egypt’s army spokesman said wreckage and passenger belongings were found 290km (180 miles) from Alexandria.

In a statement, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke of his “utmost sadness and regret” at the crash.

EgyptAir also confirmed the discovery on its Twitter feed. The find was made early on Friday, army spokesman Brig Gen Mohammed Samir said on his Facebook page (in Arabic).

Greece has not yet commented on the latest discovery.

The search is now focused on finding the plane’s flight recorders, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Greek, Egyptian, French and UK military units have been taking part in a search operation near Greece’s Karpathos island.

Greece said radar showed the Airbus A320 had made two sharp turns and dropped more than 25,000ft (7,620m) before plunging into the sea.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36339614