Search continues in Brazil jungle for British men on missing plane

Rescue teams in Brazil have resumed their search for a plane which disappeared with four British businessmen on board.

Alan Kempson, Nigel Hodges, Sean Woodhall and Ricky Every were on the twin-engined Cessna 310 travelling from Salvador to the coastal city of Ilheus when it lost contact with air-traffic controllers minutes before it was due to land on Friday night. There were two pilots on board.

The Brazilian air force, police and volunteers spent yesterday searching a large area of jungle in north-eastern Brazil.

The four men were flying to Ilheus to study sites for a housing development planned by Mr Woodhall's firm, Worldwide Destinations, which is based in Spain and has a UK office in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. Mr Woodhall's friend and colleague Michael Lynn said: "Everybody is hoping that there will be a positive outcome. We have to stay positive, but it has been a long time now. It is very concerning indeed."

Mr Every works for the company in Brazil and lives there, Mr Lynn said. Mr Kempson, 46, who lives in Spain, is chief executive of Diamond Lifestyle Holdings, while Mr Hodges, who lives in Somerset, is finance director of the firm, based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, he added. Mr Woodhall arrived in Brazil on Thursday, according to Mr Lynn, and spent Friday in Salvador.

The four had been due to spend the weekend looking at potential sites for "eco-developments" of homes. Mr Lynn said he had been told the men had originally planned to travel to Ilheus by helicopter but switched to the plane because of bad weather.

Ellen Duarte, business manager for Aero Star, which operated the flight, said: "It was flying perfectly. The pilot said he was making a visual approach to the airport, and that was the last we heard."

The Foreign Office confirmed the incident.