Paris prosecutor’s office opens manslaughter probe after Air France flight vanishes

Prosecutor’s office opens Airbus plane probe

PARIS — The Paris prosecutor’s office says it has opened a manslaughter probe in the crash of Air France flight 447, a routine step by authorities in the deaths of French citizens overseas.

The prosecutor’s office said Friday it opened the case because some of the victims lived in Paris. It gave no indication there was any evidence of criminality in the case.

France’s Accident Investigation Agency is carrying out its own probe of the disappearance of the Airbus A330 on Sunday en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard.