Passenger plane disappears over the Atlantic

01/06/2009

Search and rescue operation launched for French flight carrying over 200

A French passenger plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to Paris has gone missing over the Atlantic Ocean.

The plane from Rio de Janeiro was supposed to have arrived in France at 11.15am (0910 GMT) but Paris Charles de Gaulle airport said that contact had been lost three hours before the planned landing.

The Brazilian air force said a search and rescue mission was under way near the tropical island of Fernando de Noronha.

“We are very worried,” a Paris airport official said.

“The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago. It could be a transponder problem, but this kind of fault is very rare and the plane did not land when expected.”

Flight AF 447 had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots.

Airport authorities have set up a crisis centre at Charles de Gaulle.