French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday appointed Christine Robichon as a special ambassador to follow up with families of victims of the Yemenia air crash, said the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"On the proposal from Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the president decided to appoint an ambassador charged with the follow-up to the catastrophe," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier.

According to Chevallier, Robichon, the former French ambassador to Sudan, "will work on the various requests from the victims' families, including the chartering of an aircraft to carry them closer to the crash site."

A Yemenia Airbus A310 crashed into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros on Tuesday. Sixty-six French citizens were among the 152 victims. Only a 12-year-old girl survived the crash.

Robichon was presented to the families on Thursday.

France's Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau earlier warned that the Yemenia Airways must make "very big efforts" to avoid being blacklisted in Europe.

Source: Xinhua