Pretoria - The Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Tuesday confirmed that a South African man was on board the Air France jet that disappeared on Monday.
"We can confirm that a South African man was on board the flight," said the department's spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota.
The department said it was offering assistance to his family. "The department is providing consular assistance to the family," said Ms Kota.
Earlier today, company officials confirmed the South African man, Erich Heine, was on board the flight when it went missing on Monday morning.
ArcelorMittal spokesperson Sven Lunsche told BuaNews Mr Heine worked for ArcelorMittal from 1991 to early 2006.
Mr Heine joined ArcelorMittal as a mechanical engineer from the University of Pretoria in 1991.
"In 2000, he was made general manager of our Newcastle plant and in 2005 general manager of our biggest operation in Vanderbijlpark," Mr Lunsche said, adding that he left in 2006 to join steel giant Thyssenkrupp.
France and Brazil on Monday dispatched military aircraft on a search mission in the vast Atlantic Ocean where the jet carrying 228 people may have come down.
The planes have started a thorough scouring of possible areas to find the wreckage although officials have said there was little chance of the safe return of any survivors on board the Airbus A330-200.
The airplane, bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, lost contact with the control center shortly after its takeoff from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 pm (2200 GMT). It was expected to arrive in Paris on Monday at 11:15am local time (0915 GMT).
"The chances of finding any survivors are very slim," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport following his meeting with relatives of passengers on the plane on Monday.
The Air France jet was probably hit by lightning and suffered an electric failure while flying through an Atlantic storm, Air France said earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, France is seeking US satellite assistance to help locate the wreckage. The first military ship wasn't expected to reach the area where the plane vanished until Wednesday.
The 216 passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men, according to Air France. There were nine flight attendants and three flight crew.
