MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) - Injuries found during autopsies performed on passengers killed in an Air France A330 crash suggest the plane could have broken up in midair.

Flight 447 bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared on June 1 off Brazil's northeast coast four hours after it took off with 228 people on board. Fifty bodies have been recovered and Brazilian medical examination sources said autopsies revealed many broken bones.

A former forensic expert at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the injuries pointed to the plane breaking up in midair.

"Typically, if you see intact bodies and multiple fractures - arm, leg, hip fractures - it's a good indicator of a mid-flight breakup," Frank Ciacco said.

The head of the French agency investigating air crashes (BEA) said Wednesday that it is unlikely that the entire A330 will be recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, but everything was being done to determine the cause of the accident.

"I will not say it will be easy. We are doing everything possible. And with account for work carried out and data received, I believe we are getting closer to our goal step by step," Paul-Louis Arslanian said.