Brazilian airforce planes found the remains of the Air France jetliner that went down inexplicably in stormy weather about 1,200 km off Brazil’s northeastern coast, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim confirmed. Debris including airplane seats, bits of metal and streaks of fuel were discovered in the water 650 km northeast of the island of Fernando de Norohna. The possibility of finding any of the 228 passengers and crew alive was “very, very small, even non-existent,” said Jean-Louis Borloo, French minister of transportation. Brazil declared three days of mourning for the tragedy. France will hold a mass in Notre Dame Cathedral Wednesday 3 June.

Experts are puzzled about the causes of  the crash, saying that a modern plane with an experienced crew should not have crashed unless it suffered multiple traumas, reports the BBC. Naval ships from Brazil and France are due to arrive in the area to conduct a search for the voice and data recorders. Le Monde (Fre), Reuters

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