Briton identified as body recovered from doomed flight

A British oil worker was today confirmed as one of the bodies recovered after an Air France flight crashed into the Atlantic.

Brazilian authorities formally identified one of the 49 bodies recovered so far as Graham Gardner, 52, from Gourock, Inverclyde.

All 228 on board the Air France Airbus A330 died when the jet broke up during a flight to Paris from Rio in Brazil on 1 June.

Mr Gardner was the master of a pipe-laying and construction vessel for the oil industry, owned by an Aberdeen-based Subsea 7.

He worked one month on, one month-off in Brazil and was flying home to join his wife when tragedy struck.

He was one of five Britons on the flight.

In a statement released by Subsea 7 today, his widow, Joyce, 51, said: "Although the finality of being told Graham is no longer with us was a shock, I feel relieved and grateful that we are now going to be able to bring Graham home where he belongs.

"As a family this will allow us to rebuild our lives, which is what Graham would have wanted.

"On behalf of the family, I would like to say thank you for all the support we have received from everyone who knew Graham, which has helped us get through this difficult time.

"The authorities have kept us informed every step of the way and we know the rescue teams have done all they possibly can but it has been the uncertainty of not knowing whether Graham's body would be found which has been hardest to deal with.

"I will miss Graham enormously."

Mel Fitzgerald, chief executive of Subsea 7, said: "Our thoughts remain with Graham's wife Joyce and all his family on hearing this latest news.

"We hope that finding Graham's body will be a comfort to them all and will help them to come to terms with Graham's untimely death.

"Graham was a well-respected and highly-regarded employee of Subsea 7 who made a valuable contribution to the company over many years.

"We will continue to provide support to Joyce and her family."

Flight 447 disappeared from radar over the Atlantic Ocean after entering a storm zone.

Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash and are still searching for the flight data recorders.

More than 400 pieces of debris have been recovered from the sea.