French submarine searching for Air France black boxes

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On Wednesday a French submarine equipped with advanced sonar equipment began searching for the flight recorders from the Air France Airbus A330-200 that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil last week, according to French officials.

Last week, Emeraude, a nuclear-powered submarine, was despatched to the remote area to assist in the recovery of the “black boxes” that may contain vital information about the disaster. The flight recorders are thought to be deep below the surface of the water on the ocean floor.

“The Emeraude will begin its patrol during the morning in an initial search zone of 36 km by 36,” French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said late on Tuesday, adding that the zone searched would change daily.

If the plane’s recorders are found, unmanned robot submarines that are on board the French exploration ship Pourquoi Pas, also in the area, could be used to retrieve them.

When Air France flight 447, on route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris went down in a severe storm last week, all 228 people on board are believed to have died.

Thanks to www.reuters.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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