An Air France plane has disappeared from the radar above the Atlantic Ocean. The Airbus A330 with more than 200 people on board was travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris and was expected to land shortly after 11am.

Air traffic control authorities in France have confirmed the disappearance of the aircraft. The authorities say they are worried that the plane has been out of communication for several hours. A crisis centre has been set up.

Flight AF 447 has 216 passengers and 12 crew on board. It left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT).

“Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from flight AF 447, which was flying on the Rio de Janeiro - Paris Charles de Gaulle route and was scheduled to arrive at 11.15 a.m. today (0915 GMT),” an Air France spokesman said.

Air France said relatives of people travelling on board flight AF 447 were being taken care of in a special area of Charles de Gaulle airport.

Brazil’s air force said on Monday its planes had begun searching for an Air France airliner that went missing on a flight to France.

Henry Wilson, an air force spokesman, told Reuters that planes had taken off from the island of Fernando de Noronha off Brazil’s northeast coast to look for the Air France jet, which went missing with 228 people on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the plane had probably had an accident as a hijacking had been ruled out.

More:

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/090601-air-france

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