Prospect slim of finding plane survivors: Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the prospects of finding any survivors from an Air France jet that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean carrying 228 people are "very small".

Sarkozy said that "no hypothesis is excluded" in the search for causes of the disappearance of the Rio to Paris flight.

Sarkozy met on Monday at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport with some of families of those aboard the plane, including "a mother who lost her son, a fiance who lost her future husband".

Sarkozy said, "I told them the truth. The prospects of finding survivors are very small."

He said finding the plane "will be very difficult" because the search zone "is immense".

He said France has asked for help from US satellite equipment to locate the plane.