Wreckage from Air France plane crash discovered in the Atlantic

Parts of an Air France plane that crashed over the Atlantic in 2009 have finally been found.

The passenger plane had been flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1 2009 when it went down about half way between Brazil and Senegal, killing all 228 people on board including three Irish doctors - Aisling Butler of Roscrea, County Tipperary, Jane Deasy of Dublin, and Eithne Walls, who is originally from Belfast.

Yesterday the French Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said in a statement that during search operations at sea in the previous 24 hours the team had located parts of the plane.

The statement added that the investigators identified the wreckage as belonging to the A330-203 plane,flight Air France 447.

BEA Director Jean-Paul Troadec told the press that investigators now have hope of finding the plane's black boxes because the debris area was quite concentrated.

"The favorable news is that the debris area is relatively concentrated. And this gives us hope of finding the black boxes," Troadec added.

The search for new wreckage began on 25 March, in hopes of discovering what caused the crash. To date the official cause of the crash remains undetermined.