Human remains recovered from EgyptAir Flight 804 have burn marks and are very small, suggesting that an on-board explosion caused the disaster, according to a senior Egyptian forensics official.

“The logical explanation is that an explosion brought it down,” according to the anonymous official, who told the Associate Press that he is part of the Egyptian team investigating the crash, and has personally examined the human remains at a Cairo morgue.

He said the body parts are “so tiny” and that at least one piece of an arm has signs of burns — an indication it might have “belonged to a passenger sitting next to the explosion.”

All 80 pieces that have been brought to Cairo so far were in 23 bags, and are uniformly small.

“There isn’t even a whole body part, like an arm or a head,” said the official, adding that one piece was the left part of a head.

“But I cannot say what caused the blast,” he added, without saying whether traces of explosives were found on the human remains recovered so far.

But in the latest in a series of mixed messages in the aftermath of the tragedy that claimed 66 lives, the head of Egypt’s forensics authority dismissed the suggestion that the size of the body parts indicated an explosion on board.

Forensics chief Hisham Abdel-Hamid told Egypt’s state MENA news agency that the assessment was “mere assumptions” and that it was too early to draw conclusions.

At least two other sources with direct knowledge of the probe also told Reuters it would be premature to conclude what caused the ill-fated Airbus A320 to plummet into the sea Thursday as it entered Egyptian airspace during its Paris-to-Cairo flight.

And a statement from the government’s investigative committee also warned the media to be cautious about what is published “to avoid chaos and spreading false rumors and damaging the state’s high interests and national security.”

Meanwhile, the plane’s black boxes – which could hold clues about what brought the airliner down — have not yet been found. Images of debris published by the Egyptian military were not charred and appear to show no signs of fire.

Signal emitters from the flight recorders have a battery life of just 30 days.

Egyptian officials have said they believe terrorism is a more likely explanation for the disaster than mechanical failure.

Some aviation experts also have said the erratic flight reported by the Greek defense minister suggests an explosion or a fight in the cockpit.

Also Tuesday, the investigative team led by Ayman al-Moqadem said parts of the wreckage have been taken to Cairo in 18 batches.

France’s aviation accident investigation agency BEA would not comment on anything about the bodies or say whether any information is available to indicate an explosion.

Relatives of the victims provided DNA samples Tuesday to the Cairo morgue to help identify the remains of their kin, according to a security official.

Ships and planes from Britain, Cyprus, France, Greece and the US are also taking part in the search for the debris.

French investigators say the plane sent a series of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board as well as other possible computer problems shortly before it vanished.

Egyptian and Greek officials — who monitored the flight before it crossed into Egypt’s air space — have given differing accounts of its last few minutes.

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said on Thursday that Greek radar had picked up sharp changes in the jet’s path — 90 degrees left, then 360 degrees right as it plunged from its cruising altitude to 15,000 feet.

But Ehab Mohieldin Azmi, head of Egypt’s air navigation services, said Egyptian officials saw no sign of the plane swerving.

“Of course, we tried to call it more than once and it did not respond,” he told Reuters. “We asked the planes that were nearby to give it a relay and we could not reach it. That’s it.”

At a hotel near Cairo airport where relatives were giving DNA samples grief mixed with frustration.

Amjad Haqi, an Iraqi man whose mother Najla was flying back from medical treatment in France, said the families had not been formally told body parts had been recovered.

“All they are concerned about is to find the black box and the debris of the plane. That’s their problem, not mine,” he said. “And then they come and talk to us about insurance and compensation. I don’t care about compensation, all I care about is to find my mother and bury her.”

With Post Wire services