France offers Air France 447 experts to assist

A spokesperson from the French embassy in Malaysia said they are in the process of deploying the experts, who are from its transport ministry.

The experts are still in France at the moment, the spokesperson said.

On Monday, Reuters reported the French BEA (Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety) has also offered to assist Malaysia and Vietnam with the underwater search operations and recovery of wreckage.

BEA is the French authority responsible for safety investigations into accidents or incidents in civil aviation.

Four French nationals have been identified as passengers on the ill-fated MH370 flight.

52-year-old Laurence Wattrelos and children Hadrien, 17 and Ambre, 14, were reportedly returning to Beijing where they lived after a holiday at Club Med Cherating beach resort in Pahang.

Travelling with the family was Hadrien’s girlfriend, Zhao Yan aged 18 who is also French citizen.

Grim reminder

The disappearance of flight MH370 drew reminder to Air France Flight 447 that vanished over the South Atlantic Ocean in 2009.

The Airbus A330 was en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro in the early hours on 1 June when disappeared from radar and lost all contact.

Search and rescue teams found debris from the plane five days later of the coast of Brazil. However, the plane’s flight-data recorders were only recovered two years after it crashed.

All 228 passengers and crew members perished.