A British warship and Hercules C130 have joined the ongoing search for the missing EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea at dawn Thursday.

Britain has joined the international search and recovery mission, with British Ministry of Defence spokeswoman confirming the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship Lyme Bay and an RAF C130 Hercules aircraft were helping scour the Mediterranean Sea.

On Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said a British passport holder had boarded the plane in Paris.

He added that the passenger's relatives were being supported by Foreign Office staff and offers of help had been made to the Egyptian authorities.

He refused to be drawn on the causes of the crash, saying it was "far too early to speculate".

EgyptAir flight MS804 - an Airbus A320 with 56 passengers, including a Briton, along with 10 crew members flying from Paris to Cairo - vanished off radar in the early hours of Thursday.

Source: MENA