Latest on Air France 447 black box, victim identification, search operation and investigation

Hunt for the black boxes

The black box plays a crucial role in helping the investigators understand the cause of the crash. The investigation team will be severely handicapped in putting together the cause of the crash without the black boxes.

The search for the black box is spearheaded by the French submarine Emaraude and boats equipped with a powerful underwater listening device supplied by the U.S. Navy.

The black box is thought to have sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The black box emits locator signals called "pinger" that allow search team to locate the device undersea. The box contains a battery which is designed to last for 30 days, after which the "pinger" signal starts to fade away.

Despite the 30 day period being almost over, the search is expected to continue well over the 30 day mark. The French agency leading the investigation has said that the search efforts will continue as long as it seems reasonable.

"We'll have a better idea July 1 on how much longer we'll go," AP quoted the U.S. Air Force Col. Willie Berges, who is commander of the American military forces supporting the search for the black box.

The flight recorder of a South African plane that crashed into the Indian Ocean was retrieved after 14 months from depths of over 4,000 meters.

Identification of recovered bodies

The identification of the recovered bodies is carried out by the Brazilian authorities with the help of INTERPOL, the world's largest police organisation.

The joint effort has led to the identification of 11 victims so far. The nationalities of the victims were announced as 10 Brazilians and one British. Among the 10 Brazilians, two are dual nationals of Germany and Swiss.