Brazil Tuesday confirmed the debris found earlier on the open Atlantic Ocean belonged to Air France Flight 447, solidifying the crash of the jet that went missing early Monday.
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Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim holds a diagram of the crash area during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro June 2, 2009. Jobim said that wreckage spotted in the Atlantic Ocean is "without a doubt" from the Air France jet that disappeared en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 228 people on board. [Xinhua] |
The three-mile (five kilometers) path of wreckage found in the Atlantic Ocean belonged to the Air France jet carrying 228 people that was believed to have crashed into the sea, Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said on Tuesday.
The debris were found about 400 miles from Brazil's Fernando de Noronha archipelago, near the Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo Islands. Pieces of white debris scattered over five kilometers, which, according to the minister, showed that the plane indeed fell at that site.
There is still no way to determine whether the plane blew up, and there is also no news of survivors, said Jobim.
The objects found at the sea will be taken to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago on a Brazilian naval ship, said Jobim. The minister added that Brazil will be in charge of the recovery of the plane parts, while France will carry out the investigations.
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A Brazilian Air Force radar plane at Fernando de Noronha airport preparing for the search of the Air France flight 447 bound for Paris that plunged into the Atlantic just a few hours after taking off on late May 31 from Rio de Janeiro.[Xinhuanet.com] |
Brazilian navy ships are not expected to arrive in the area until Wednesday morning. Three mercantile ships, which were close to the area, have reached the crash site.
The final passengers' list of the plane will be released on Wednesday by Air France, Jobim said. But it will not be complete, he said, as some of the names will be held upon the requests of families and relatives.
The debris was discovered more than 24 hours after the jet went missing. Flight 447, an Airbus 330-200 bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, lost contact with the control center shortly after its takeoff from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. (2200 GMT). It was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT).
The four-year-old plane was last heard from at 0214 GMT on Monday. Since local time early on Tuesday, five spotter jets, three Brazilian and two French, have been searching the missing airliner under the command of the Brazilian Air France.
With all 228 on board feared dead, it could be the world's worst aviation disaster since 2001.
The cause of the disaster remains a mystery. Air France said it could have been hit by lightning. Other potential causes include violently shifting winds and hail from thunderheads, and the area in the Atlantic Ocean where the plane is suspected to be down, used to be called by sailors as The Doldrums, where a calm can quickly become a violent storm.
The 216 passengers came from 32 countries, including nine from China, 61 from France, 58 from Brazil and 26 from Germany. The crew included 11 French and one Brazilian.
(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2009)
