Search for Britons on missing plane

Rescuers are searching for four Britons missing after their plane disappeared off the coast of Brazil.

The Foreign Office confirmed that Alan Kempson, Sean Woodall, Ricky Every and Nigel Hodges were on board.

According to reports, the Britons are businessmen who are involved in the tourist industry and own hotels and apartments in Brazil's tropical Bahia region.

The search was launched after the twin-engine Cessna 310 in which they were travelling lost contact with air-traffic controllers minutes before it was due to land in the coastal city of Ilheus on Friday night.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that there were four passengers, all four of whom were British, and two pilots."

The spokeswoman added that next of kin had been informed, and that no other details about the men are available. It is understood that three of the four do not live in the UK.

A number of aircraft were sent to look for the plane after it disappeared off the Atlantic coast. Brazilian authorities were also reportedly investigating eyewitnesses who said they saw a plane crash.

The flight was operated by Aero Star, a small charter firm based in Salvador, Bahia's state capital.

Ellen Duarte, business manager for Aero Star, said the Cessna made its final contact with the Ilheus control tower at 5.43pm local time (2143 BST) as it flew south from Salvador. "It was flying perfectly," Ms Duarte said. "The pilot said he was making a visual approach to the airport, and that was the last we heard."

Brazil's coastguard and three Aero Star helicopters searched for signs of a crash, but found nothing, she said. Bahia state police and air rescue have also joined the search.