A major search was under way tonight for a plane carrying four British men that disappeared off the coast of Brazil.
The Foreign Office confirmed that Alan Kempson, Sean Woodall, Ricky Every and Nigel Hodges. All four’s next of kin have been informed, the spokeswoman said.
It is understood that three of the four do not live in the UK. No other details about the men are available, the Foreign Office said.
Staff at the city’s airport said today that four aircraft were looking for the plane, which made its last call to air traffic controllers when it was 15 miles away from its destination.
The flight was operated by Aero Star, a small charter firm based in Salvador, in the north-eastern Brazilian province of Bahia, around 750 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. The twin-engined Cessna 310 is one of nine planes in the company’s fleet.
Ellen Duarte, business manager for Aero Star, said the plane disappeared just nine minutes before it was to land.