WELLINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Air New Zealand confirmed five New Zealanders were on board its Airbus which crashed off the south western coast of France.

    The airline said on Friday that the A320 flight from Perpignan to Frankfurt took off at 15:6 GMT Thursday, flown by two pilots of a German charter airline, XL Airways.

    Also on board were an Air New Zealand captain, three engineers and a Civil Aviation Authority representative.

    Air New Zealand said it is in close contact with their families.

    There are reports two bodies have been recovered. The other five are still missing.

    XL had been leasing the aircraft since 2006, but was about to hand it back to Air New Zealand and it was due in the country by the end of the week.

    Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said on Friday at this stage he can only confirm that one body has been recovered and that six are missing.

    Earlier, the French coastguard reported there were no survivors among the seven people on board.

    A Maritime official said that floating debris has been located. A surveillance plane, two rescue helicopters and five ships are at the scene 3.5 nautical miles (2.5 km) from shore.

    Fyfe said there is no information about what caused the crash.

    New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the crash is a "tragic loss" for the families of the crew and the airline.

    He said the government is in touch with Air New Zealand and is monitoring the situation.

    Air New Zealand said the Airbus A320 was less than four years old and was bought new for its now-defunct discount operation Freedom Air.

    The A320, a twin-engine, single aisle aircraft that normally seats around 150 passengers, is manufactured by Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group, EADS.

    Around 1,960 A320 aircraft are in service with 155 operators around the world.

    Airbus said the aircraft, powered by IAE V2500 engines, was delivered in July 2005 and had accumulated approximately 7000 flight hours in some 2800 flight cycles.