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| Despair, Anger and Scant Hope for Relatives of EgyptAir Passengers | Despair, Anger and Scant Hope for Relatives of EgyptAir Passengers |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| LONDON — The passengers on the EgyptAir flight that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday included a French rock ’n’ roll photographer who considered skipping the flight; a Portuguese engineer and father of four; and a couple in their 40s from Angers, in western France, according to their families and local news reports. | |
| One of the Egyptian flight attendants was newly married. A young man from Chad, who was studying in France, was on his way to see his family after his mother’s death. | |
| The families of those aboard the flight awaited news of their relatives’ fate at Charles de Gaulle Airport and at Cairo International Airport. Some were visibly shaken, hunched over and in tears. | The families of those aboard the flight awaited news of their relatives’ fate at Charles de Gaulle Airport and at Cairo International Airport. Some were visibly shaken, hunched over and in tears. |
| Masharei al-Sohaili said his uncle, Abdel Mohsen al-Sohaili, a Kuwaiti economist who was on the flight, was supposed to come to Cairo for a three-day break. “He was happy to come,” he said, adding, “He had his two kids. Both disabled.” | Masharei al-Sohaili said his uncle, Abdel Mohsen al-Sohaili, a Kuwaiti economist who was on the flight, was supposed to come to Cairo for a three-day break. “He was happy to come,” he said, adding, “He had his two kids. Both disabled.” |
| Fifty-six passengers, including three children, were on board Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, along with three EgyptAir security officers and seven crew members. According to a list of passengers’ nationalities released by the Egyptian government, 30 of the passengers were Egyptian and 15 were from France. The remainder came from countries including Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Chad, Iraq, Kuwait, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. | Fifty-six passengers, including three children, were on board Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, along with three EgyptAir security officers and seven crew members. According to a list of passengers’ nationalities released by the Egyptian government, 30 of the passengers were Egyptian and 15 were from France. The remainder came from countries including Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Chad, Iraq, Kuwait, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. |
| In Cairo, as news of the missing plane began to come out, families were overcome by grief, in some cases tinged with anger. | In Cairo, as news of the missing plane began to come out, families were overcome by grief, in some cases tinged with anger. |
| Struggling to escape the cameras, the relative of one passenger shoved a reporter aside, shouting: “Consider the feelings of others. You just care about putting something up. May God burn you all, you heartless people.” | Struggling to escape the cameras, the relative of one passenger shoved a reporter aside, shouting: “Consider the feelings of others. You just care about putting something up. May God burn you all, you heartless people.” |
| Others railed at the Egyptian authorities’ response to the crisis. Mervat Moamen, a relative of Samar Ezz el-Deen, the newly married flight attendant on the flight, said she was frustrated and disappointed. “We don’t know anything,” she said. “We have not seen anything yet. It is just propaganda.” | Others railed at the Egyptian authorities’ response to the crisis. Mervat Moamen, a relative of Samar Ezz el-Deen, the newly married flight attendant on the flight, said she was frustrated and disappointed. “We don’t know anything,” she said. “We have not seen anything yet. It is just propaganda.” |
| “Pray for them,” she added. “We are hoping they are just kidnapped and that this talk is untrue.” | “Pray for them,” she added. “We are hoping they are just kidnapped and that this talk is untrue.” |
| The British Foreign Office confirmed that one British citizen was on board and said it had been in contact with the passenger’s family. The Portuguese government confirmed that João Silva, 61, a father of four and a civil engineer based in Johannesburg, was also aboard the plane. He was in charge of African markets for Mota-Engil, an infrastructure and construction company. | The British Foreign Office confirmed that one British citizen was on board and said it had been in contact with the passenger’s family. The Portuguese government confirmed that João Silva, 61, a father of four and a civil engineer based in Johannesburg, was also aboard the plane. He was in charge of African markets for Mota-Engil, an infrastructure and construction company. |
| Even before the cause of the plane’s disappearance was confirmed, friends and colleagues began to pay tribute to the missing passengers. | Even before the cause of the plane’s disappearance was confirmed, friends and colleagues began to pay tribute to the missing passengers. |
| Alain Gest, a center-right member of the French Parliament from Somme, wrote on Twitter that Ahmed Helal, the head of a Procter & Gamble facility in Amiens, in northern France, was on the flight. “Our heartfelt thoughts go to this very well-loved manager,” he wrote. France Bleu Picardie, a regional radio station, said that Mr. Helal, 40, a native of Egypt, had been a director at the consumer products giant in Amiens since June 2014, and that he managed 1,000 people at the site, which produced detergents. It said news of his disappearance had been communicated to staff on Thursday morning. | Alain Gest, a center-right member of the French Parliament from Somme, wrote on Twitter that Ahmed Helal, the head of a Procter & Gamble facility in Amiens, in northern France, was on the flight. “Our heartfelt thoughts go to this very well-loved manager,” he wrote. France Bleu Picardie, a regional radio station, said that Mr. Helal, 40, a native of Egypt, had been a director at the consumer products giant in Amiens since June 2014, and that he managed 1,000 people at the site, which produced detergents. It said news of his disappearance had been communicated to staff on Thursday morning. |
| Also among the missing is a student from Chad who was training at France’s prestige military academy, Saint-Cyr. | Also among the missing is a student from Chad who was training at France’s prestige military academy, Saint-Cyr. |
| The protocol officer for Chad’s embassy in Paris, Muhammed Allamine, said the man, who was not identified, was on his way home after his mother’s death, according to local news media. | The protocol officer for Chad’s embassy in Paris, Muhammed Allamine, said the man, who was not identified, was on his way home after his mother’s death, according to local news media. |
| At least one person on the flight had doubts about whether to make the trip. Pascal Hess, a photographer from Évreux in the north of France who covered rock concerts and had a passion for volleyball, had lost his passport just days before the flight. | At least one person on the flight had doubts about whether to make the trip. Pascal Hess, a photographer from Évreux in the north of France who covered rock concerts and had a passion for volleyball, had lost his passport just days before the flight. |
| “He didn’t sleep for three days until someone found it in the street,” a relative, who was not named, told La Dépêche, a regional newspaper. “It’s crazy but he hesitated about going, he didn’t know whether he should go or not.” The paper said that Mr. Hess was on his way to a resort on the Red Sea to join a friend who worked as a diving instructor. | “He didn’t sleep for three days until someone found it in the street,” a relative, who was not named, told La Dépêche, a regional newspaper. “It’s crazy but he hesitated about going, he didn’t know whether he should go or not.” The paper said that Mr. Hess was on his way to a resort on the Red Sea to join a friend who worked as a diving instructor. |
| At Charles de Gaulle Airport, an employee who identified herself only as Sonia was deeply distraught, worried that her help might have doomed an Egyptian family who had been running late for their flight. She told the European broadcaster RTL that the family — two parents with their five children — had arrived at the wrong terminal to board the flight. When the father realized the mistake and began to panic, she said she tried to get EgyptAir to hold the flight for them. | At Charles de Gaulle Airport, an employee who identified herself only as Sonia was deeply distraught, worried that her help might have doomed an Egyptian family who had been running late for their flight. She told the European broadcaster RTL that the family — two parents with their five children — had arrived at the wrong terminal to board the flight. When the father realized the mistake and began to panic, she said she tried to get EgyptAir to hold the flight for them. |
| “I saw that the father was becoming stressed and I assured them that I would try and call the company to see if they could make an exception and hold the plane — something that I never do,” she said. | “I saw that the father was becoming stressed and I assured them that I would try and call the company to see if they could make an exception and hold the plane — something that I never do,” she said. |
| “I hope they didn’t make it,” she said. | “I hope they didn’t make it,” she said. |