UPDATE: An EgyptAir vice president retracted his earlier statement to CNN that "We have found the wreckage" of Flight 804 about 170 miles off the coast of Egypt. The search for debris in the sea is slowed by nightfall late Thursday, he said.

VP of #EgyptAir, "We stand corrected...[the wreckage] is not our aircraft" https://t.co/eBXlUqNEI2 https://t.co/eqVvHNuR70

-- CNN (@CNN) May 19, 2016

French President Francois Hollande confirmed it was a crash.

French President on #EgyptAir: "Information confirms, alas, that this plane has crashed"https://t.co/GhpGsEfiLL https://t.co/8JJBRABSxR

-- BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 19, 2016

The captain of a freighter that has joined the search off the coast of Egypt for signs of Egypt Air 804 posted this photo of what appears to be an orange life vest on his personal Facebook page Thursday. There has been no confirmation that the object is debris from the missing passenger plane.

Airline officials said the A320 with 66 people on board disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean during a flight from Paris to Cairo. The initial theory is a terror bomb brought down the plane, according to CNN.

2 U.S. officials: Initial government theory is that EgyptAir Flight 804 was taken down by a bomb. https://t.co/gpC07PXv42

-- CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) May 19, 2016

Earlier, Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy told reporters a "terrorist act" or mechanical issue behind the disaster.

Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy says there could be a "terrorist act" or mechanical issue behind #EgyptAir https://t.co/wLsPXtgiqC

-- BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 19, 2016