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| Germanwings plane crash: Julie Bishop confirms two Australians were on board | Germanwings plane crash: Julie Bishop confirms two Australians were on board |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two Australians are among the 150 people presumed dead after Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashed in the French alps overnight, foreign minister Julie Bishop has confirmed. | Two Australians are among the 150 people presumed dead after Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashed in the French alps overnight, foreign minister Julie Bishop has confirmed. |
| The victims are a mother and her adult son from Victoria. | The victims are a mother and her adult son from Victoria. |
| “It would not be appropriate to disclose further details of our citizens at this stage due to privacy considerations of the family,” Bishop said early on Wednesday morning. “Further details, as the family agrees to the release of those details will be made.” | |
| The foreign minister said the Australian government was “seeking to identify if there were any other Australians, dual nationals or permanent residents on this flight.” | |
| The Airbus A320 was flying between Barcelona and Düsseldorf when it went down about 9pm Australian standard time in the small town of Barcelonette, 100km north of Nice in France. | |
| Bishop and Tony Abbott are expected to send their personal condolences to their French, Spanish and German counterparts once the details of the crash become clear. | |
| “At this stage it appears Germany, France and Spain were the countries most affected,” Bishop said. | “At this stage it appears Germany, France and Spain were the countries most affected,” Bishop said. |
| Several minors were believed to have been on the flight, including 16 German schoolchildren who were returning from an exchange program in Spain. | Several minors were believed to have been on the flight, including 16 German schoolchildren who were returning from an exchange program in Spain. |
| “Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of all those killed but particularly with the loved ones of the two Australians who have lost their lives,” Abbott told reporters on Wednesday. “Our consular officials are doing what they can for the families.” | “Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of all those killed but particularly with the loved ones of the two Australians who have lost their lives,” Abbott told reporters on Wednesday. “Our consular officials are doing what they can for the families.” |
| Australian consular officials will travel to the crash site to help at the incident coordination centre. | Australian consular officials will travel to the crash site to help at the incident coordination centre. |
| “French authorities have given permission for consular officials to travel to a town called Gap where they will liaise with French authorities on the location of the recovery effort, including where the remains will be identified, and we will be setting up a mobile office in that location” the foreign minister said. | “French authorities have given permission for consular officials to travel to a town called Gap where they will liaise with French authorities on the location of the recovery effort, including where the remains will be identified, and we will be setting up a mobile office in that location” the foreign minister said. |
| “Early this morning, I spoke to the Australian ambassador in France, Stephen Brady. He is still establishing with the French authorities the process of the removal of bodies. There are legalities involved,” Bishop said. | “Early this morning, I spoke to the Australian ambassador in France, Stephen Brady. He is still establishing with the French authorities the process of the removal of bodies. There are legalities involved,” Bishop said. |
| Tanya Plibersek, the opposition spokeswoman on foreign affairs, offered her sympathies to the families of victims, saying the crash was “enormously sad”. | |
| She said it was important to remember that aviation travel was safe, even though the number of high-profile crashes recently have made accidents “feel unusually frequent”. | |
| Germanwings is a subsidiary of German carrier Lufthansa, which has an impeccable safety record. The reasons for the crash are still unknown. | Germanwings is a subsidiary of German carrier Lufthansa, which has an impeccable safety record. The reasons for the crash are still unknown. |
| Aviation expert Desmond Ross told ABC TV on Wednesday: “Lufthansa and all of its activities have been absolutely top class.” | |
| “They are one of the world’s leading airlines. They don’t cut corners on maintenance, they don’t cut corners on pilot training or engineering training.” | |
| “One would expect that Germanwings as their subsidiary would be operating to the high standards that they would. So I initially can’t start to assume any issues with their maintenance procedures. I would suspect that they were all absolutely top line,” Ross said. | “One would expect that Germanwings as their subsidiary would be operating to the high standards that they would. So I initially can’t start to assume any issues with their maintenance procedures. I would suspect that they were all absolutely top line,” Ross said. |
| “The aircraft is an old aircraft, 24, 25 years old we’re being told. Some countries now do not permit aircraft of more than 20 years to be used in passenger service but that rule has not been introduced in Germany or France at this point in time.” | “The aircraft is an old aircraft, 24, 25 years old we’re being told. Some countries now do not permit aircraft of more than 20 years to be used in passenger service but that rule has not been introduced in Germany or France at this point in time.” |