Solemn music wafted over the square circling Notre Dame Cathedral on Wednesday as relatives, friends and others collected inside to mourn the 228 victims of the Air France flight that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.

"Gathered by grief and shock, we are in a heavy mood in remembrance of the 228 victims," Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, told the audience, including President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister Francois Fillon, former President Jacques Chirac and Air France employees.

"Let us pray for those aboard the plane, for the families whichlost their loved ones, and for Air France employees remaining on flights," the archbishop said during the packed interfaith service.

Jewish, Islamic and Orthodox Church leaders also attended the service.

Air France Flight 447 vanished Sunday night with 216 passengers and 12 crew members from 32 nations on board. The flight was bound for Paris from Rio de Janeiro when all contact was lost after it hit heavy weather over the Atlantic.


Staff members of Air France and relatives of the victims mourn for the 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the missing Airbus A330 during a memorial ceremony in front of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, capital of France, on June 3, 2009. A church service was held in Notre-Dame cathedral on Wednesday. The Air France Airbus A330-200, Flight 447, bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, lost contact with the control center shortly after its takeoff from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT). (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
In memory of those aboard Flight 447, 228 candles were lit during the service, the archbishop said, "as a sign of their presence in the absence."

Family members of the victims, in deep sorrow inside the cathedral at the geographical center of Paris, were accompanied by hundreds of civilians standing in solemn silence on the square.

Some of those in the square held white flowers or folded their hands at their chest in piety. Tourists moved by the solemn atmosphere joined the silent tribute outside the ornate cathedral.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard of the plane's disappearance, it's so terrible," said a woman from Bordeaux, who constantly wiped away tears during the service. "I told myself that 'they must be wrong,' ... and even now I'm expecting miracle."


Staff members of Air France mourn for the 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the missing Airbus A330 during a memorial ceremony in front of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, capital of France, on June 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
An Air France employee was still sobbing when she stepped out of the cathedral.

"Three or four of my colleagues were on the plane. I haven't contacted their families until now," she said. "I don't know...I'm sorry, I felt muddled."

A mourner holding a French flag with a black ribbon on the mast called the plane crash "undoubtedly a tragedy."

"I extend my sympathy to all those who lost their most loved ones, no matter whether they are French or foreigners," the mourner said.

Meanwhile, efforts to search for more wreckage from the missing plane continued as the service went on.

Brazilian Air Force searchers on Tuesday detected more plane parts in the Atlantic along the course flown by the doomed Airbus. French military official confirmed Wednesday that the wreckage was from the Air France plane.


A man holds the French national flag while attending the memorial ceremony in front of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, capital of France, on June 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
Source: Xinhua