217 Die In EgyptAir Crash

A Cairo-bound EgyptAir Boeing 767 that crashed off the US coast on Sunday killing 217 people on board plummeted towards the Atlantic Ocean in "a very rapid descent," the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board has said.

The plane began a very rapid descent from 11,000 metres at approximately 7,000 metres per minute.

Egypt has asked the US to lead an investigation which has already begun. There are not beleived to be any New Zealanders on board but EgyptAir has established a special US phone number for people to contact the airline if they believe they know someone on board. It is a United States number 800 - 243-1094

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