Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has announced that two senior gardaí will be sent to Brazil to assist in the identification of the victims of Air France flight AF 447.
The Air France Airbus 330 crashed into the sea on June 1st en route from Brazil to Paris, killing all 228, including three Irish nationals, aboard.
Speaking today, Commissioner Murphy said: “My thoughts and sympathies have been with the families of Dr Aisling Butler, Dr Jane Deasy and Dr Eithne Walls, who were passengers on the Air France flight.
“My officers will travel to Rio de Janeiro in the coming days and use their experience and expertise to support the important task now underway in Brazil.”
The two officers, Detective Inspector Joseph Kinsella and Detective Sergeant Jarlath Lennon, are from the Garda Technical Bureau and are experienced in disaster victim identification.
Detective Inspector Kinsella was deployed to Thailand following the tsunami in December 2004, where he assisted in the international effort and liaised with the families of the missing Irish persons. He also helped establish a fingerprint database to assist in the identification of the victims in the tsunami disaster.