17 bodies retrieved from Air France crash

BRAZIL: Fifteen more bodies were recovered on Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean near the site where an Air France jetliner was believed to have crashed a week ago, bringing the number of bodies retrieved to 17, Brazilian military officials said.

The 15 bodies were found in a sea area some 1,150 km off Brazil's northeastern coast city Recife, Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz told reporters in Recife.

The Brazilian military said eight bodies were picked up by a French navy ship on Sunday, but gave no further details.

Brazilian ships retrieved two corpses on Saturday and seven others on Sunday.

Among the nine, Munhoz said, four were male and four female, while the gender of the other body could not be identified.

He added that the Brazilian military were transporting the 17 bodies to the islands of Fernando de Noronha, 370 km off the coast of Brazil, from where the corpses and debris would be eventually brought to Recife.

Munhoz said dozens of components of the crashed airliner were also found, noting that there is "no more doubt" that the debris is from Flight 447.

Brasilia, Monday, Xinhua