Second black box of crashed EgyptAir plane retrieved

The second black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane was retrieved, Egyptian investigators said on Friday.

"Lethbridge John vessel, rented by the Egyptian government to take part in the search, has retrieved the second black box, flight data recorder of the crashed EgyptAir flight A320," Xinhua news agency quoted the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee as saying in a statement.

The Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board.

Later, the Egyptian military announced it found personal belongings of the victims and small pieces of the plane's wreckage in the Mediterranean Sea 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria.

The recorder, which gathers information about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane, was "retrieved in several pieces", the committee said.

The aircraft's first black box, cockpit voice recorder, was recovered on Thursday.

The Egyptian investigation committee said preparations were underway to transfer the two flight black boxes to Alexandria where they will be received by an official from the prosecutor general's office and investigators.

--IANS

py/vt