Brazil says debris from crash jet
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Debris spotted by planes in waters 650km (400 miles) off Brazil's coast belongs to a missing French airliner, the Brazilian government has confirmed.
Defence Minister Nelson Jobim said he had no doubt the debris was from the Air France jet carrying 228 people. A Brazilian search plane saw a band of wreckage along a 5km (3m) strip, Mr Jobim said in Rio de Janeiro. There has been no report of survivors.
Flight AF 447 was heading from Rio to Paris when it was lost early on Monday.
The discovery of the debris confirmed "that the plane went down" in the area, Mr Jobim said. He gave few details of the wreckage, saying only that it included metallic and non-metallic pieces.
Earlier, Brazil's air force said it had spotted an airplane seat, and an orange buoy and signs of fuel.
Mr Jobim's words will come as grim confirmation of the worst for the families waiting for news both in Paris and Rio. If it is confirmed that all 228 people on Flight AF 447 are dead, it will be the worst loss of life in Air France's history.
Naval boats are due to arrive in the crash zone on Wednesday, while three merchant vessels are already in the area, the Brazilian defence minister said.
If any bodies are found, they will be transported by ship to the nearest airport, on Brazil's archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.
The defence minister warned that the recovery of the plane's cockpit voice and data recorders could be difficult because of the depth of the ocean. "It could be at a depth of 2,000m or 3,000m [6,500ft-9,800ft] in that area of the ocean," he said.
He made the announcement after visiting relatives of those aboard the flight, who were being looked after in a Rio hotel by teams including psychological and medical personnel.
France is also sending a research ship equipped with two mini-submarines to the disaster area.
Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are also among them.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will attend a religious service for the families and friends of the missing passengers and crew at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon told the French parliament that the cause of the plane's loss had still to be established.
"Our only certainty is that the plane did not send out any distress call but regular automatic alerts for three minutes indicating the failure of all systems," he said.
Experts remain puzzled that there were no radio reports from the Airbus and they say that such a modern aircraft would have had to suffer multiple traumas to plunge into the sea, say reports from Paris.