Two passengers aboard Air France flight AF 477 have names linked to Islamic terror organisations according to latest reports.

The Direction G̩n̩rale de la S̩curit̩ Ext̩rieure (DGCS) Рthe French equivalent of MI6 Рrevealed it investigating the pair, who appeared on classified documents detailing those suspected of being security threats to the French state.

Air France flight AF 477 disappeared during stormy weather over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1st, with all 228 passengers feared dead. Brazilian and French navy vessels have been searching for wreckage, with some 41 bodies recovered so far.

However, the French government has been quick to dampen speculation over potential links to terror.

“We launched an urgent enquiry into the men’s backgrounds as soon as they were pinpointed as having possible terrorist links,” confirmed an from the French Interior Ministry.

“This deep and wide-ranging investigation has allowed us to clear them.”

A French nuclear submarine has joined the salvage operation for the missing Airbus 330. The Emeraude can scour 27 square kilometres a day in a difficult search for the aircrafts missing ‘black box’ flight data recorders.

US Coast Guard search and rescue (SAR) experts based in the Portsmouth Virginia Rescue Coordination Centre are also assisting officials at the Rescue Coordination Centre in Gris Nez, France.

American analysts are providing information and advanced technology to help locate the plane’s fuselage as well as recover passengers and crew who were lost in the crash.

travelbite.co.uk staff