European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed express solidarity and sympathy over an accident of an Air France aircraft in a message sent respectively on Monday to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"It is with emotion that I learned of the accident that took place this Sunday with an Air France plane from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, causing 228 victims and enormous suffering on both sides ofthe Atlantic," Barroso said on behalf of the European Commission.

The Air France Airbus A330-200, Flight 447, bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, lost contact with the control center shortly after its takeoff from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7:00 PM local time (2200 GMT). It was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 AM local time (0915 GMT).

Earlier, Air France said in a statement that the plane, carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at around 0200 GMT Monday, and "an automatic message was received at 0214 GMT signaling electrical circuit malfunction.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)