Paris:
A missing Air France passenger jet with 228 people on board was probably struck by lightning and suffered an electrical failure as it flew through a fierce Atlantic storm, a top official said on Monday.
"The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning. The plane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems," said Francois Brouse, Air France's director of communications.
In a separate statement, the airline said the plane's systems had sent an automatic error message at 0214 GMT on Monday reporting a "fault in an electronic circuit" during its flight from Rio de Janeiro towards Paris.
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