First bodies from Air France crash arrive in Brazil

FERNANDO DE NORONHA(BRAZIL): The first 16 bodies recovered from an Air France jet crash in the Atlantic arrived at this remote Brazilian island on Wednesday ahead of identification, officials said.

The remains were recovered on the weekend from the spot the Airbus A330 came down as it was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1. All 228 people on board were killed.

A total of at least 28 bodies had been picked up as of early today, according to Brazilian officials.

They were found floating in what one Brazilian navy crewman said was "a sea of debris" 1,100 km (700 miles) off Brazil's northeast coast.

From Fernando de Noronha, the remains were to be flown by plane to the mainland coastal city of Recife, where they were to be identified using DNA samples from relatives and dental records.

Interpol is helping with the task, and France is heading the investigation into the crash. Passengers from 32 countries were on the flight.

Efforts continued in the Atlantic to retrieve part of the shattered aircraft that might yield clues as to the cause of the crash.

A Brazilian navy ship on Monday recovered the plane's tail fin, seen as the most important piece yet recovered, since the plane's black boxes were mounted in the aircraft's tail section.