Brazilian Aeronautics said on Thursday that they have recovered three more bodies of the victims of the ill-fated Air France flight 447, near Fernando Noronha archipelago, bringing the total to 44.

Brazilian Air Force's Lieutenant-Brigadier Ramon Borges Cardoso speaks at a press conference in Recife, northeastern Brazil, on June 11, 2009. There is only a "remote" chance that searchers will find all of the victims from the Air France flight that crashed last week above the Atlantic Ocean with 228 people aboard, Cardoso said here on Thursday. So far 44 bodies have been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean near the crash site. [Xinhua]

"The bodies were seen by plane of the Aeronautics this morning and they already aboard the Constitution ship from the Brazilian Navy," a Brazilian officer said.

"It is expected that the bodies will arrive at the archipelago early on Saturday," Aeronautics' Brigadier Ramon Cardoso said.

Brazilian Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz shows a searching route map at a press conference in Recife, northeastern Brazil, on June 11, 2009. [Xinhua]

Cardoso added that the bodies were found in an area where there are possibilities of finding more victims.

"However, we did not collect any remains of the plane on Thursday," Cardoso said.

Air France Flight 447, an Airbus 330-200, was traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board when it vanished over the Atlantic Ocean around midnight on May 31.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)