Aust govt to assist family of Aussies killed in air crash

CANBERRA- The Australian federal government will offer assistance to the relatives of an Australian man and his children who were killed in Greece's worst ever plane crash.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer described it as a tragic destruction of a family.

"Three Australian citizens have now been confirmed as dead in the Cypriot Airlines tragedy, a father and two children," he told reporters.

"The mother was also killed (but) she wasn't an Australian citizen.

"It's a very tragic situation that a family could be destroyed in this way.

"I understand they have one other child, a baby but the baby wasn't travelling on the plane."

Adelaide-born Demos Xiourouppa, his Cypriot wife Margarita, 34, and their daughters Sophia, 10, and Johanna, 9, were killed in Sunday's crash.

Their two-year-old son, George, was with his grandparents in Cyprus.

Mr Xiourouppa left Adelaide in 1993 to move to Cyprus, but had retained his Australian citizenship and had two brothers and cousins in Adelaide.

Mr Downer said the government would offer help to family members in Australian.

"We will provide consular assistance to members of the family who want to go over there to Greece," he said.

"There are some relatives and we will help them if they wish to go over, which I think they do."

Mr Downer said this stage the government was not aware of any other Australians killed in the disaster.

- AAP