From France24 site
France backpedals on Rio-Paris crash recovery efforts - AF447 CRASH - FRANCE 24
France backpedals on Rio-Paris crash recovery efforts
French teams working to recover the remains of the victims of the ill-fated Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 will only retrieve bodies that are not badly decomposed, according to a letter to families of the victims signed by the Paris judges overseeing the case.
The letter, a copy of which FRANCE 24 obtained on Friday, recognized that the decision to only recover certain remains was “contrary to certain public announcements relayed by the media” that all of the bodies would be brought to the surface and handed over to families.
On Friday, Brazilian defense minister Nelson Jobim told journalists in Rio de Janeiro that all of the remains that were found would be recovered. "We must then identify them and conduct DNA tests,” Jobim said.
French police later said that rescue teams would be reinforced, "to lift all the bodies and personal effects."
“Only if conditions allow”
Addressing family members of the victims, judges Sylvia Zimmermann and Yann Daurelle said: “You should know that the remains of the victims are understandably in a state of decomposition given the particularly violent crash, the time elapsed and the environment.
“Consequently, we will proceed only with the recovery of the bodies that can be returned to their families in a decent state, and only if conditions allow for their identification,” the judges letter continued.
Brazilian authorities have come under intense pressure from the group representing the Brazilian families of the AF 447 victims, which has demanded that all bodies be retrieved.
The French families did not make any immediate statements following the release of the judges letter.
.../...