Brasilia  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was informed of the plane accident off the Brazilian coast during a visit to El Salvador, his advisors told Brazilian news website G1 Monday.

Lula was in El Salvador to attend the inauguration of new Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes. This was set to be the first stage of a Central American tour, which was also set to take him to Guatemala and Costa Rica this week.

There was no official information on whether Lula was to pursue the tour further or return to Brazil. However, he was expected to talk to reporters later Monday in El Salvador.

The Airbus A330-200, flight number AF 447, left Rio de Janeiro for Paris, but the plane lost radio contact with Brazilian air control at about 0130 GMT, the Chief Executive of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, told journalists in Paris. The plane - with 228 people on board - remained missing. (dpa)