An 11-year-old boy on his way back to boarding school was named yesterday as one of the 228 people on board the Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic. Alexander Bjoroy had been visiting his parents in Brazil. He was one of five Britons on the missing Air France flight.

After more than 24 hours of searching, Brazilian air force planes found aircraft seats and other debris floating in the Atlantic about 350 miles off the coast.

Alexander, whose Norwegian-born father works in the oil industry in Brazil, was one of eight children on board, including a baby. Alexander’s grandfather, William Dougill, of Penarth, Cardiff, said that the family was devastated.

Among the passengers believed to have been on board was Arthur Coakley, a 61-year-old businessman from Whitby in North Yorkshire. His wife Patricia said that she was starting to lose hope that he had survived the crash. “We’ve still got hope on our side, but I’m certain he would have phoned by now,” she told The Times.

Although she last heard from him on Sunday night as he was about to board the plane to Paris, his mobile phone had continued working on Monday, leading her to hope that he might be found. Mr Coakley, a structural engineer, had been due to return to Britain much earlier but had been asked to stay on for a few days.

She said that he had arranged to meet his best man and some friends in their local pub last Friday but had cancelled to stay a few more days in Brazil. He tried to leave on a different flight on Sunday but was put on flight AF447 when the earlier plane was full.

Other passengers whose names were confirmed yesterday were Graham Gardner, 52, from Scotland. He was the master of a pipe-laying and construction vessel for the oil industry. He had worked in Brazil for four years, alternating months working on the rigs with time at home in Aberdeen. He was flying home to join his wife Joyce at their home in Gourock, Renfrewshire, on Sunday. She described her husband as a “loving and caring” man who would be dearly missed by all who knew him.

“I have known Graham for as long as I can remember. He’s such a loving, caring and laid-back man. Nothing fazed him,” she said. “I’m sure I can speak for everyone that knew him, whether family, friend or colleague, in saying that he will be missed, dearly.”

Neil Warrior, a Londoner and a PR director for Mazda Europe, who was in his 40s and on holiday in South America, was also on the flight, his colleagues said.

If no survivors are found, the disappearance of flight 447 would be the worst disaster in Air France’s 75-year history. The airline confirmed last night that the missing included 72 French, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, and a number of other nationalities.

An orthodontist working in Britain was also on the aircraft. Dr Jose Souza, 35, who was based at the Reading Orthodontic Centre, qualified as a dental surgeon in Rio de Janeiro in 1996 and joined the centre in January 2005.

Three Irish doctors who were on their way home from a holiday in Brazil were also on the flight. The medics — all friends — had qualified from Trinity College, Dublin, two years ago.

Among them was Eithne Walls from Ballygowan, Co Down, a doctor and Irish dancer who had appeared on Broadway in the show Riverdance.

In a statement her family said: “It is with the heaviest and saddest of hearts that the Walls family confirm the loss of their dearest daughter and sister. Eithne was an extraordinary person who brought light to the lives of everyone she touched . . . We feel privileged to have shared her too short life, and the countless memories of her will stay with us for ever.”

She was travelling to Dublin with Jane Deasy, 27, and Aisling Butler, 26.

Aer Lingus said that two members of its crew, based in Dublin, were on board. Their nationalities have not been revealed.

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