Britons among plane crash dead

Bahraini firemen recover bodies of the passengers

Two British people were among 143 passengers and crew on board the Gulf Air Airbus A320 jet which crashed into the sea off Bahrain on Wednesday, leaving no survivors.

The bodies of all 135 passengers and eight crew have been recovered from the site of the crash.

The Britons have been named as Aileen Woods, in her late 20s, from Scotland and resident in Bahrain, and Chris Keenan, in his early 40s, from London and resident in Abu Dhabi.

Investigators are due to study the Airbus A320's black box flight recorder after rescuers found it.

The plane was travelling from Cairo to Bahrain when it came down shortly before it was due to land.

The airline has set up an emergency response centre in London on 0845 604 0171.

A Bahraini Information Ministry official, Said Al-Bably, said the plane crashed after one of its engines caught fire.

The UK general manager for Gulf Air, John Evans, told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme these reports were yet to be confirmed.

He said the Airbus, which was just seven years old and part of a fleet of 13 was a "superb aircraft" and "the latest in state of the art technology".

A team from Airbus was now on its way out to join Bahrain aviation officials to conduct a full investigation, he said.

Site of Gulf Air crash

Three helicopters from the Bahrain-based US Navy's Fifth Fleet joined the Bahraini coast guard's rescue effort. The plane is reported to have crashed about five kilometres (three miles) from Bahrain airport.

The plane, flight GF072, was carrying 135 passengers and eight crew. Cairo airport officials said it left Cairo at 1425BST.

Gulf Air is jointly owned by the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

According to an air traffic controller at Bahrain airport, the jet circled the runway twice in an attempt to land, then on the third attempt plunged into the sea and exploded in flames. He said it came down at 1620 GMT.

Mr Evans said he believed the pilot had not raised any alarm about possible difficulties.