The search team probing the remains of Air France flight A447 painstakingly brought up two bodies from a depth of 12,800 feet in early May, both still strapped into airline seats, and took DNA samples from them.
Since then - and despite some controversy - the team has hauled up another 75 bodies and is still bringing up more.
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Hide AdA Paris-based spokesman for the French military police force in charge of the operation said: "75 bodies have been brought up but operations are still going on and we'll have to wait for the end of the search for a final figure."
The first two bodies recovered from the wreckage had been reasonably well preserved in the icy depths of the ocean but suffered some damage as they were raised from the seabed.