Briton on board EgyptAir plane which has crashed

EgyptAir flight MS804 disappeared from radar 10 miles inside Egyptian air space over the Mediterranean at 2.30am Cairo time (1.30am BST) after taking off just under three and a half hours earlier from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

A major search and rescue operation has been launched by Egyptian and Greek authorities to find the remains of the aircraft, with reports of a flash in the sky over the Mediterranean.

Among those on board were a child and two babies, EgyptAir said. The airline added that the country's prime minister Sherif Ismael had arrived at its Cairo Airport crisis centre and received a detailed briefing

Egypt's civil aviation authority said it received a signal from the aircraft at 4.26am local time, believed to be an automated message rather than one sent by the pilot.

The airline said the 56 passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, and one each from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Flight MS804 left Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11.09pm Central European Summer Time (10.09pm BST).

The French government said President Francois Hollande spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone, and they agreed to "closely co-operate to establish the circumstances" in which the flight disappeared.

The written statement cited Mr Hollande as saying he shares the anxiety of families.