Breaking news - French plane lost over Atlantic

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8076848.stm

 

French plane lost over Atlantic

 

An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has gone missing over the Atlantic.

 

Paris Charles de Gaulle airport said contact was lost with the flight from Rio de Janeiro at 0600 GMT.

 

Brazil's air force confirmed the plane was missing and said a search and rescue mission was under way near the island of Fernando de Noronha.

 

An airport official told AFP the Airbus 330-200 had been expected to arrive in Paris at 1110 local time (0910 GMT).

 

Another official said it was possible that the plane had a transponder problem but this was very rare.

 

"We are very worried," he said, quoted by AFP news agency. "The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago."

 

Flight AF 447 left Rio at 1900 local time (2200 GMT) on Sunday. It had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots.

 

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

 

An Air France official told AFP that people awaiting the flight would be received in a special area at the airport's second terminal.