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| Germanwings plane crash investigators begin examining black box | Germanwings plane crash investigators begin examining black box |
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| French air investigators are examining one of the black boxes of the doomed Germanwings plane to find out why the aircraft crashed into a mountain in the French Alps, killing the 150 people on board. | French air investigators are examining one of the black boxes of the doomed Germanwings plane to find out why the aircraft crashed into a mountain in the French Alps, killing the 150 people on board. |
| The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) arrived at the French air investigation bureau on Wednesday morning. The first information about what happened on the flight deck before the tragedy is expected in a few hours, but investigators warned a full explanation would take weeks. | The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) arrived at the French air investigation bureau on Wednesday morning. The first information about what happened on the flight deck before the tragedy is expected in a few hours, but investigators warned a full explanation would take weeks. |
| Related: Germanwings Airbus 320 crash: at least three British victims – live updates | Related: Germanwings Airbus 320 crash: at least three British victims – live updates |
| The French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said the box was “damaged but readable”. Accident investigators are still searching for the second recorder at the crash scene. | The French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said the box was “damaged but readable”. Accident investigators are still searching for the second recorder at the crash scene. |
| The Airbus, operated by Germanwings, a low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa, disappeared off the radar at about 10.30am on Tuesday, while just under half way on its route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. | The Airbus, operated by Germanwings, a low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa, disappeared off the radar at about 10.30am on Tuesday, while just under half way on its route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. |
| Investigators hope recordings of voices and sounds in the cockpit will explain why the crew failed to send any distress signal or respond to air traffic control radio messages as it lost altitude rapidly over eight minutes | Investigators hope recordings of voices and sounds in the cockpit will explain why the crew failed to send any distress signal or respond to air traffic control radio messages as it lost altitude rapidly over eight minutes |
| On Wednesday morning grieving families of the 150 victims who died in the crash began to arrive in Alpine villages around the crash zone. | On Wednesday morning grieving families of the 150 victims who died in the crash began to arrive in Alpine villages around the crash zone. |
| After postponing the search on Tuesday evening, hundreds of gendarmes, firefighters and mountain rescue teams returned to comb rocky ravines in the southern Alps, between the villages of Digne-Les-Bains and Barcelonnette, where debris from Flight 4U 9525 is scattered. An air investigation team from Paris has also arrived at the scene. | After postponing the search on Tuesday evening, hundreds of gendarmes, firefighters and mountain rescue teams returned to comb rocky ravines in the southern Alps, between the villages of Digne-Les-Bains and Barcelonnette, where debris from Flight 4U 9525 is scattered. An air investigation team from Paris has also arrived at the scene. |
| The plane appears to have smashed into the mountain at a speed of more than 430mph, violently shattering the plane into small pieces of wreckage. Investigators have the grim task of finding the remains of the 144 passengers – including two babies and 16 schoolchildren – and six crew members. | The plane appears to have smashed into the mountain at a speed of more than 430mph, violently shattering the plane into small pieces of wreckage. Investigators have the grim task of finding the remains of the 144 passengers – including two babies and 16 schoolchildren – and six crew members. |
| The final toll of the victims’ nationalities is not yet known, but Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said on Wednesday that 72 Germans and 35 Spanish had died. Earlier reports had put the figures at 67 Germans and 45 Spanish. | |
| At least three Britons are believed to be among the dead, as well as two Americans. Casualties have been confirmed from at least 16 countries overall. | |
| In Seyne-les-Alpes, the picturesque alpine mountain village of 1,500 people which has been transformed into a makeshift centre of operations, support staff were preparing on Wednesday to receive the first relatives of the victims. Many families had chosen to fly to Marseille overnight and taken by bus to the alps to get as near as possible to the crash site and to begin grieving as they waited for relatives’ remains. | In Seyne-les-Alpes, the picturesque alpine mountain village of 1,500 people which has been transformed into a makeshift centre of operations, support staff were preparing on Wednesday to receive the first relatives of the victims. Many families had chosen to fly to Marseille overnight and taken by bus to the alps to get as near as possible to the crash site and to begin grieving as they waited for relatives’ remains. |
| In the village, the mood was grief and sadness. Looking up at the mountain beyond which the plane had crashed, Maurice Borel, a retired volunteer fireman, said: “It is going to be very hard indeed for the emergency workers trying to recover the victims’ remains. I feel for everyone, I really do. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.” | In the village, the mood was grief and sadness. Looking up at the mountain beyond which the plane had crashed, Maurice Borel, a retired volunteer fireman, said: “It is going to be very hard indeed for the emergency workers trying to recover the victims’ remains. I feel for everyone, I really do. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.” |
| The French president, François Hollande, is expected in the area on Wednesday afternoon with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. | The French president, François Hollande, is expected in the area on Wednesday afternoon with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. |
| Cazeneuve said the crash zone had been sealed off and a specialised “identification team” dispatched from Marseille. | Cazeneuve said the crash zone had been sealed off and a specialised “identification team” dispatched from Marseille. |
| Related: What happened to Germanwings flight 4U 9525? | Related: What happened to Germanwings flight 4U 9525? |
| “Until we have the information from the black box, that is now being analysed it’s difficult to have an idea of the cause of this drama. As the prime minister [Manuel Valls] said yesterday, all hypotheses are on the table,” Cazeneuve told journalists in Paris. | “Until we have the information from the black box, that is now being analysed it’s difficult to have an idea of the cause of this drama. As the prime minister [Manuel Valls] said yesterday, all hypotheses are on the table,” Cazeneuve told journalists in Paris. |
| Cazeneuve said terrorism had not been ruled out but was “not the main theory” for the cause of the crash. | Cazeneuve said terrorism had not been ruled out but was “not the main theory” for the cause of the crash. |
| “We have to let investigators do their job,” he said. | “We have to let investigators do their job,” he said. |
| On Wednesday morning, staff at Germanwings’ headquarters in Cologne held a silent tribute to the dead. | On Wednesday morning, staff at Germanwings’ headquarters in Cologne held a silent tribute to the dead. |
| Staff from the Joseph-König high school in the western German town of Haltern held a special assembly in memory of 16 pupils and two teachers who died in the crash while returning from an exchange trip. | Staff from the Joseph-König high school in the western German town of Haltern held a special assembly in memory of 16 pupils and two teachers who died in the crash while returning from an exchange trip. |
| Among the Spanish dead were Marina Bandrés López-Belio, a 37-year-old from Huesca, who had been on the flight with her seven-month old baby, reported news agency Efe. | Among the Spanish dead were Marina Bandrés López-Belio, a 37-year-old from Huesca, who had been on the flight with her seven-month old baby, reported news agency Efe. |
| Others named by Spanish media included Carles Milla Masanas, the father of a two-year-old, Joseph Sabaté Casellas, a 38-year-old director for clothing firm Esprit who was expecting his fourth child and Enric Guiot, 60, who travelled once a week between Barcelona and Düsseldorf for business. | Others named by Spanish media included Carles Milla Masanas, the father of a two-year-old, Joseph Sabaté Casellas, a 38-year-old director for clothing firm Esprit who was expecting his fourth child and Enric Guiot, 60, who travelled once a week between Barcelona and Düsseldorf for business. |
| Earlier, Barcelona’s opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, confirmed that the singers Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner, and her husband and baby, had died in the crash. | Earlier, Barcelona’s opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, confirmed that the singers Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner, and her husband and baby, had died in the crash. |