Egyptian officials disputed a claim that the human remains found at the crash site of the EgyptAir flight suggest an explosion.

A forensic official quoted by Associated Press has said earlier that the body parts received so far are small and that “there isn’t even a whole body part, like an arm or a head”, adding: “The logical explanation is that an explosion brought it down…but I cannot say what caused the blast.”

The head of Egypt’s forensics authority, though, denied there was evidence of an explosion later on Tuesday.

“Everything published about this matter is completely false, and mere assumptions that did not come from the Forensics Authority,” Dr Hisham Abdel Hamid said in a statement quoted by Mena news agency.