A Dubai resident returning from her honeymoon is among the 228 people feared dead after an Air France aircraft disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean yesterday. Ana Negra Barrabeig, 28, who was originally from Barcelona, left Brazil for Paris on flight 447, which went missing in the middle of a storm four hours after taking off. Her husband of one month, Javier Alvarez, 38, was on a separate flight to Dubai that left shortly after hers. He learned about the missing plane upon his arrival in the UAE. The couple, who met in Barcelona, worked at a management consultancy in Dubai Media City. Mr Alvarez returned home to Spain this afternoon. A spokesman for the Spanish embassy in Abu Dhabi confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Ms Barrabeig was among the passengers on the flight.
The Spanish news agency RNE said the couple married at the Raventos i Blanc vineyard in Catalonia, which is owned by Ms Barrabeig's family, on May 6, before leaving for honeymoon in Brazil. The couple had lived in Dubai for two and a half years, the agency said. Ms Barrabeig's aunt, Isabel Negra, told RNE that her niece was overjoyed by her recent marriage. Ms Negra said: "She was a girl filled with life, she was enchanting and happy." She added that Ms Barrabeig's parents were "very sad" after the loss of their daughter. "But we have to accept it, since it has happened to us. It happens to many people - and today it has happened to us. It is a terrible fate." rhughes@thenational.ae
