News

EgyptAir Crash Leaves Three Children Orphaned

by Lauren Barbato

EgyptAir has not released the names of the passengers and crew on board the ill-fated Flight 804, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning en route to Cairo. However, many of the 66 victims have been identified across multiple news outlets. And two of those EgyptAir victims, Ahmed el-Ashry and Reham Mosad, reportedly left three young children orphaned, according to The Telegraph.

The British news source has identified Ahmed el-Ashry and Reham Mosad, a married couple, were among the victims of the fatal EgyptAir Flight 804 crash. The couple was reportedly returning home to Egypt from Paris, where they spent a month taking care of Reham's cancer treatment. Sources close to the family said the couple sold many of their assets to pay for the cancer treatment.

"Ahmed sold everything to save his wife and ease her grief," family friend Mohamed al-Shenawi told The Telegraph. He said Ahmed and Reham left their three children with Ahmed's mother while they were in Paris.

The Egyptian couple, who have been married for almost 10 years, reportedly had a son in primary school and two infant daughters, The Telegraph reported. "They spent a month and then they returned onboard the plane which didn't arrive and now will never arrive," al-Shenawi told the news source.

THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images

There were 56 passengers, seven crew members and three Egyptian security officers onboard Flight 804. Although the airline has yet to confirm the names of the victims, it's known that 30 of the victims were Egyptian nationals. French officials confirmed that 15 victims were French nationals, while Canadian government officials have released a statement confirming that there were two Canadians onboard. The remaining victims hailed from Algeria, Belgium, Chad, Iraq, Kuwait, Portugal, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia.

EgyptAir released this statement on its website on Saturday:

EGYPTAIR offers its sympathy and condolences to all those touched by the tragic loss of flight MS804. We have made arrangements to host the families of the passengers and cabin crew of the missing plane and have established a Family Assistance Center in a hotel close to Cairo International Airport and we will continue providing our support to the families at this very difficult time. Families of passengers and cabin crew may contact the center by calling 080077770000, 01208222275 and 01200008289 from within Egypt or 0020225989320 from outside the country. Families can also communicate with the Family Assistance Center via the following email: familycare@egyptair.com to get notified with any updates.

As debris continues to be pulled from the Mediterranean Sea, international investigators are trying to piece together the flight data and wreckage to determine the cause of the fatal accident. Terrorism has not been ruled out, but no terrorist organizations have claimed responsibility for the crash. French aviation investigators have confirmed reports of smoke alerts in the front of cabin just minutes before the planed crashed.