Searches were continuing last night for any sign of the Air France airliner which vanished over the Atlantic with five Britons and three Irish nationals among its passengers.

A list posted on the airline’s website said the British and Irish passengers were among 228 people on board the Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

The passenger list also includes 61 French and 58 Brazilians among the 32 nationalities on board.

The airline said: “Air France is in a position to confirm the nationalities of the passengers who were on board the flight AF447 of May 31, 2009, which disappeared between Rio de Janeiro and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

“This list was created from information given by the Brazilian authorities.

“Air France sends its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew members.

“Air France will do everything it can to support the families and friends. Medical and psychological assistance has been provided at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rio de Janeiro airports.”

Among the passengers are known to be a baby and seven children.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy last night said there was a “very small” chance of finding survivors.

An Air France spokeswoman said the 12 crew on board were all French.

Patricia Coakley, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, said she believes her husband Arthur was on the flight.

The couple spoke on Sunday night, she told the BBC.

“He had just checked in his luggage and was waiting for his flight to be called,” she said.

Mrs Coakley said her husband had called every day and emailed several times a day during a four-week stint in Brazil working on an oil rig.

“His return date has been cancelled twice but he wasn’t supposed to be on this flight,” she said.

Lightning a routine problem for aircraft

On average, large jets are struck by lightning about once every three years, according to aviation incident statistics.

Regional aircraft are hit about once a year because they cruise at much lower altitudes where there’s a greater possibility of lightning strikes.

The overwhelming majority of incidents end with no damage or only superficial marks to the airframe, such as small dents.

Most airliners such as the A330 are built mainly of aluminium, which is very good at dissipating the energy contained in a lightning bolt, which can be in excess of 300,000 amps.

Composite components on some newer models are not as good at shedding electrical energy and are particularly prone to damage from lightning strikes.

There have been only a handful of accidents in the past 50 years in which lightning may have played a contributory role.

The worst occurred December 8, 1963, when lightning ignited fuel vapour in the tanks of a Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 flying over Maryland in the US.

All 81 people on board died. Immediately after, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered that all commercial airliners be equipped with electrical discharge wicks.