EgyptAir crash: French ship to join hunt for plane's black boxes

The French navy said on Monday that one of its ships has arrived in the search area to help look for traces of EgyptAir Flight 804 that crashed in the Mediterranean and especially for its flight recorders.

The vessel is equipped with sonar that can pick up the underwater "pings" emitted by the recorders. It is specialised in maritime surveillance, and rescue and marine police missions. The 80-meter (262-foot) ship left its Mediterranean home port of Toulon Friday with a crew of 90, including two judicial investigators.

The search area is roughly halfway between Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and the Greek island of Crete, where water is 8,000 to 10,000 feet (2,440 to 3,050 meters) deep.