World | Other World Stories
Families pay tribute to Air France victims
Three young Irish doctors, all close friends, enjoying a two-week vacation together in Brazil.
- AP
- Published: 23:01 June 2, 2009
- Women looking for information about the Air France flight 447 that was reported missing on its way between Rio de Janeiro and Paris being escorted to a private room at Tom Jobim airport in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
- Image Credit: AP
Paris: Three young Irish doctors, all close friends, enjoying a two-week vacation together in Brazil.
That's how their families want to remember Aisling Butler, 26, Jane Deasy, 27, and Eithne Walls, 29 - three of the 228 on board who met with tragedy as Air France flight 447 ended up in the Atlantic Ocean.
The women boarded the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Sunday night after a reunion with a larger group of former students who graduated in 2007 from Trinity College medical school.
Aisling's father John Butler paid tribute to his daughter yesterday from his home in Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he told Irish reporters. "She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride as well."
He said he initially thought Aisling was booked on Monday's flight and had to retrieve her itinerary from his deleted e-mails folder. "When I opened it up, a nightmare opened up as well," he said.
Walls was working in Dublin's Eye and Ear Hospital. Before starting her medical studies she worked full-time as a dancer in the Riverdance troupe, and continued to perform part-time during her six years in Trinity medical school.
She performed at Radio City Music Hall and in Germany, France, China and Dublin. Julian Erskine, executive producer of Riverdance productions worldwide, described Walls as "bright and sparkling."
"She made an impact on anyone. When she wasn't dancing, she was studying. She was on a mission to be a doctor," he said.
Investigators were still looking into what brought the plane down in the Atlantic Ocean hours into its flight to Paris.
Among the 216 passengers were 61 French citizens, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, nine Chinese and nine Italians. A lesser number of citizens from 27 other countries also were on the passenger list, including two Americans.
Ten salesmen from CGED, an electrical distributor, were on the plane with their spouses after winning a vacation to Brazil, Europe-1 radio reported.
French tiremaker Michelin lost three executives, including two senior Brazilian managers and Christine Pieraerts, a young French engineer. Spokeswoman Sophie Perrier said Michelin's staff was "very moved" by the tragedy.
The five Britons on the plane included 61-year-old British engineer Arthur Coakley, from near Whitby, North Yorkshire.
His wife of 34 years, Patricia, broke down in tears as she described her "fabulous husband," father to their three grown children. She said her son Patrick raised the alarm, phoning to ask "What flight is Daddy on?"
She tried phoning her husband's mobile on Monday but gave up yesterday.
Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, 26, a member of Brazil's now-defunct royal family and a descendent of Dom Pedro II, the nation's last emperor, was on the plane. So was sailor Zoran Markovic, 45, from the village of Kostelji in northwestern Croatia.
Air France said 11 of the 12 crew members were French but did not release their names.
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