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Germanwings crash: students' remains among first to return home | Germanwings crash: students' remains among first to return home |
(35 minutes later) | |
The families of German high school students killed in the Germanwings plane crash have left Düsseldorf airport with their children’s coffins after the first victims of the tragedy were repatriated. | The families of German high school students killed in the Germanwings plane crash have left Düsseldorf airport with their children’s coffins after the first victims of the tragedy were repatriated. |
The remains of 44 of the 150 people killed when flight 4U9525 smashed into the French Alps on 24 March were flown to Düsseldorf by Lufthansa on Tuesday night. | The remains of 44 of the 150 people killed when flight 4U9525 smashed into the French Alps on 24 March were flown to Düsseldorf by Lufthansa on Tuesday night. |
Parents and relatives of 15 students from Haltern viewed the coffins inside an airport hangar on Wednesday before a convoy of black and white hearses, accompanied by a police motorcade, set off for the town 46 miles (74km) to the north-east. | Parents and relatives of 15 students from Haltern viewed the coffins inside an airport hangar on Wednesday before a convoy of black and white hearses, accompanied by a police motorcade, set off for the town 46 miles (74km) to the north-east. |
The convoy was to pass by the Joseph-König-Gymnasium, the high school the teenagers attended. Two teachers who had accompanied them on a school exchange to Spain were also killed in the crash. | The convoy was to pass by the Joseph-König-Gymnasium, the high school the teenagers attended. Two teachers who had accompanied them on a school exchange to Spain were also killed in the crash. |
Related: The mystery of flight 9525: a locked door, a silent pilot and a secret history of illness | Related: The mystery of flight 9525: a locked door, a silent pilot and a secret history of illness |
“This entire event is a tragedy, especially for the parents, but we, too, lost our students and colleagues,” said Ulrich Wessel, the headteacher. “It’s especially difficult for the students of grade 10. There used to be 150 students, now they are only 134 … Many lost their best friends.” | “This entire event is a tragedy, especially for the parents, but we, too, lost our students and colleagues,” said Ulrich Wessel, the headteacher. “It’s especially difficult for the students of grade 10. There used to be 150 students, now they are only 134 … Many lost their best friends.” |
The group of 16 students and two teachers was flying back from Barcelona to Düsseldorf when, it is believed, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz crashed the plane against a mountain in France. One teenager from the group will not be buried in Haltern. | |
While they waited for the convoy, students in Haltern laid white roses for their friends on the pavement next to the school. They also lit white candles in the school yard, where 18 trees were recently planted as a memorial to the dead. | While they waited for the convoy, students in Haltern laid white roses for their friends on the pavement next to the school. They also lit white candles in the school yard, where 18 trees were recently planted as a memorial to the dead. |
Wessel said psychologists had talked to pupils earlier this week and that all students would be allowed to attend their schoolmates’ funerals. The first burials will be held on Friday. | |
A spokeswoman for Germanwings said the remains of the other victims were also being returned to their home countries and that the repatriations were likely to be finished by the end of June. | |
Lufthansa spokesman Andreas Bartels said, in addition to individual returns, a special flight next Monday would return remains of the Spanish victims to Barcelona from Marseille. | Lufthansa spokesman Andreas Bartels said, in addition to individual returns, a special flight next Monday would return remains of the Spanish victims to Barcelona from Marseille. |
In addition to 72 German victims, 47 Spaniards, four people who were dual citizens with a Spanish passport, and citizens of more than a dozen other countries were killed in the crash. | In addition to 72 German victims, 47 Spaniards, four people who were dual citizens with a Spanish passport, and citizens of more than a dozen other countries were killed in the crash. |
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