PARIS - The body of the pilot and steward  of an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic on June 1 has been identified among dozens that have been recovered from the ocean, the airline confirmed on Thursday.

The Airbus 330 crash resulted in the death of all 228 persons on board and the cause of the tragic accident is still unknown. The Air France  flight  was from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

"Among the victims who have been recovered from the ocean, two members of the crew of flight AF 447 have been identified to date: the captain and a steward," Air France said in a statement posted on its website.

American,Brazilian and French ships are still searching the remote area where the plane is believed to have crashed for bodies and wreckage. The flight recorders or "black boxes" are still missing with time fast running out for the possibility of retrieving it as its signal fades with the reduction in the auxillary power of the unit.

Earlier during the weel Air France announced an initial compensation to the reletives of victims from the 32 nationalities who died in the crash. Among them were 61 French nationals and 58 Brazilians.

Autopsies on more than 50 bodies recovered from the ocean are being carried out in Brazil and no further details have been released to date.

By Oliver Farirayi