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DNA database to be used in Air France crash investigation

French authorities will utilise a Brazilian DNA database to aid with the identification of recently recovered bodies from the wreckage of Air France flight 447.

The news came on Wednesday from the affected families’ spokesman Nelson Marinho, whose son was among the 228 people that perished in the Atlantic went the flight went down in bad weather two years ago just hours after departing from Rio de Janeiro.

The news comes less than two weeks after the conclusion of the final recovery mission, which brought more than 100 bodies to the surface from the ocean floor in addition to the flight’s data and cockpit voice recorders. An official ruling on the cause of the crash has not yet been released, however data shows that airspeed readings were malfunctioning just before the flight freefell for more than three minutes before hitting the ocean.

Marinho said that Brazilian officials had already given French investigators access to the database, which will help with identifying the victims’ remains that arrived in France on Thursday. Following a meeting with the BEA, France’s accident investigation authority, as well as officials representing victims from Italy, French, Brazil and Germany, he said that the bodies would be repatriated after identification.

Mr Marinho added that some families had objected to the raising of the bodies from the seafloor but said the majority were in favour of the effort so that they could finally have closure.