"We can confirm that we have seen ACARS [Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System] messages from flight MS804 in which it is written that smoke was detected on board. At this stage we still do not know what happened on board. Our priority is to locate the wreckage and the black boxes," a BEA spokesman told the ABC News broadcaster.
According to the media outlet, experts believe that this may be a sign of mechanical failure.
On Friday, media reports emerged claiming that here were smoke alerts aboard the EgyptAir flight MS804 plane minutes before it crashed. The CNN network cited a screen grab from an Egyptian source matching the "approximate" time the plane went missing.
EgyptAir has said via Twitter that the Egyptian Armed Forces have discovered the wreckage and personal items from flight MS804 295 kilometers (183 miles) from the coast of Alexandria.
