A Greek frigate searching for a missing EgyptAir aircraft discovered two large floating objects in a sea area 230 miles south of the island of Crete on Thursday, Greek defence sources said.

The objects appeared to be pieces of plastic in white and red. They were spotted close to an area where a transponder signal was emitted earlier, the sources said.

Greek state TV ERT reported similar information, saying two "orange-coloured" objects were located in the same area.

The EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo dropped off radar screens shortly after leaving Greek airspace and minutes after entering Egyptian airspace.