A Filipino seafarer who was returning home from Brazil was among the 228 passengers of Air France flight 447 feared dead after the aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila said on Tuesday. Arden Jugueta, a seafarer whose vessel docked in Rio de Janeiro was supposed to take a connecting flight from Paris to Manila when the incident happened on the evening of May 31. (Brazilia tim,e) The Philippine embassy in Brasilia has confirmed that a Filipino was among the 228 listed passengers of Air France Flight 447 which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, the DFA said. Air France Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean en route to Paris, France from the Galeao International Airport in Brazil. There were 228 passengers on board the aircraft. PhillippineCharge d'Affaires Christopher Montero said Brazil's military and aviation authorities have sent search and rescue teams near the island of Fernando de Noronha, about 1,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, but have yet to find the plane and its passengers. The high-tech Air France jet flight 447 was last heard encountering turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean after flying into bad weather, the DFA said. Despite the ongoing search and rescue operations by military and aviation authorities of Brazil, France and Spain near the island of Fernando de Noronha, the DFA has already sent its condolences to Jugueta's family. “Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo extends the DFA's deepest condolences to Mrs. Miguela Jugueta, the wife of Mr. Jugueta, and his family,” the DFA said in a statement. Air France Airbus A330, a twin-engine, long-haul, medium-capacity passenger jet that can hold up to 253 passengers, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after it left the Galeao International Airport in Brazil. If all 228 people were killed, it would be the deadliest commercial airline disaster since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines jetliner crashed in the New York City borough of Queens during a flight to the Dominican Republic, killing 265 people, an Associated Press report said. Meanwhile, Air France officials assured the families of the missing passengers that they are doing their best to provide support for relatives and friends. “Medical and psychological assistance involving 15 specialist physicians has been set up at Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 and Rio de Janeiro airports,” Air France said in a statement. Aside from medical assistance, Air France also provided 100 voluntary members as back-up teams in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Rio de Janeiro.
