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| Germanwings crash: German grief echoed by new friends in Spain | |
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| Fifteen-year-old Philippa had to bite her bottom lip and fight back tears as she recalled how Elena, her best friend at the Joseph-Koenig school, sent her a text message just minutes before she boarded the ill-fated Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday. | Fifteen-year-old Philippa had to bite her bottom lip and fight back tears as she recalled how Elena, her best friend at the Joseph-Koenig school, sent her a text message just minutes before she boarded the ill-fated Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday. |
| “She told me that she was excited about her trip and was looking forward to coming home. I had been hoping to see her at school on Wednesday; now I still think she’s coming. I can’t believe this; it’s a nightmare come true,” she told The Independent. | “She told me that she was excited about her trip and was looking forward to coming home. I had been hoping to see her at school on Wednesday; now I still think she’s coming. I can’t believe this; it’s a nightmare come true,” she told The Independent. |
| Philippa was among scores of traumatised pupils at the school in Haltern am See yesterday, still stunned by Germany’s worst air crash for more than 50 years. Fourteen girls, two boys and two teachers from the school had been due to return from a week-long exchange programme at a school near Barcelona. Among them was Elena, 16, in the same class as Philippa and equally keen on languages. | Philippa was among scores of traumatised pupils at the school in Haltern am See yesterday, still stunned by Germany’s worst air crash for more than 50 years. Fourteen girls, two boys and two teachers from the school had been due to return from a week-long exchange programme at a school near Barcelona. Among them was Elena, 16, in the same class as Philippa and equally keen on languages. |
| Philippa had been on exchange programmes to England and Elena had been keen to keep up. “I could have been on that plane,” said Philippa. “I was offered a place but I turned it down at the last minute because I had already been away so much. To say I feel relieved does not really sum up my feeling. When Elena was in Spain she kept sending me pictures of the places she had visited. I was so looking forward to hearing all about it. Now I never will.” | Philippa had been on exchange programmes to England and Elena had been keen to keep up. “I could have been on that plane,” said Philippa. “I was offered a place but I turned it down at the last minute because I had already been away so much. To say I feel relieved does not really sum up my feeling. When Elena was in Spain she kept sending me pictures of the places she had visited. I was so looking forward to hearing all about it. Now I never will.” |
| Residents of Llinars del Vallès observe a minute of silence to honour the victims of the crash (Getty) Her grief was mirrored 800 miles away in Llinars del Vallès, near Barcelona, where 24 hours earlier Spanish schoolchildren had gathered to wave fond farewells to their new German exchange friends. Yesterday morning they gathered again, this time shaken and in tears, to mourn their friends’ deaths. Sitting in the Pick Up café, 16-year-old Meritxell Martinez said she had refused to attend a remembrance service at the Institut Giola, the Spanish school in the exchange programme, because was just too sad. | Residents of Llinars del Vallès observe a minute of silence to honour the victims of the crash (Getty) Her grief was mirrored 800 miles away in Llinars del Vallès, near Barcelona, where 24 hours earlier Spanish schoolchildren had gathered to wave fond farewells to their new German exchange friends. Yesterday morning they gathered again, this time shaken and in tears, to mourn their friends’ deaths. Sitting in the Pick Up café, 16-year-old Meritxell Martinez said she had refused to attend a remembrance service at the Institut Giola, the Spanish school in the exchange programme, because was just too sad. |
| She had also sent messages via Facebook to the 19-year-old brother of her exchange partner, Selena, one of the German students killed. “She was an extrovert, always loud. We had become good friends. It is so sad, and so confusing.” During the private service, students reportedly gave readings and sang a song that the German students had taught them. Afterwards, the host families to the German students left the school, many of them bitterly upset. | She had also sent messages via Facebook to the 19-year-old brother of her exchange partner, Selena, one of the German students killed. “She was an extrovert, always loud. We had become good friends. It is so sad, and so confusing.” During the private service, students reportedly gave readings and sang a song that the German students had taught them. Afterwards, the host families to the German students left the school, many of them bitterly upset. |