A Plane with 150 people on Board Crashes in the French Alps

Hollande says that there is "no survivors" and confirms that among the passengers there are at least 42 Spanish

An aircraft of the German company Germanwings, an Airbus A320, performing the route between Barcelona and Düsseldorf, has crashed Tuesday in the French Alps. [So we're counting live the last hour of the accident]

 

 

On board the flight they were 144 passengers and six crew members, as confirmed by the company through a statement. French President François Hollande, has said it is "unlikely" that any of them survived : "The accident conditions suggest that there is no survivor." In a brief appearance at the Elysee, Hollande has indicated that they are 42 Spaniards have died and there are victims "of other nationalities, mainly German and Turkish."
 

"No can bring relief to within a few hours' since the accident occurred in an access area" particularly difficult ", lamented the French head of state to the media, accompanied by the Kings of Spain, which Tuesday carried out in the country a state visit. Hollande added that "have not been yet clarified the circumstances" of the accident. In fact, what little we know so far about the victims is that between them have a group of 17 German students aged 14 to 16 years and two teachers participating in an exchange program between their school and Barcelona.

"Our thoughts are people who suffer this immense regret"

Following the intervention of French President Felipe VI announced, accompanied by Queen Letizia and Hollande, the suspension of state trip through France. "I want to express my deepest condolences, wholeheartedly, to families who have lost loved ones," said Philip VI , who has also forwarded to the French authorities for their "gratitude" by the measures implemented "immediately" .
 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that next Wednesday will travel to the scene and ensured that the tragedy has filled a "great pain" to Germany, Spain and France. "Our thoughts are with all those who are suffering despite the immense," said the head of government in a press conference, adding then that "it is not the time" now to get into speculation about the causes of tragedy, but to "accompany those who suffer."

Cabinets crisis

Meanwhile, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, who visit Sevilla as planned, announced minutes after the plane's passengers between "there are 45 Spanish surnames and two babies." The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has suspended its agenda and has offered a press conference in which, after stating via Twitter be "shocked" by this "tragedy", said it will "do everything in our power to help families'. Both leaders have returned to Madrid, where a crisis cabinet will meet chaired by sanez de Santamaría .
 

The Government has also created in Barcelona a crisis unit to coordinate actions, which form part of the Minister of Development, Ana Pastor. The Vice President, Joana Ortega, prepare your travel soon to the area of the incident. According to reported sources of the Catalan executive, the Minister of the Interior, Ramon Espadaler, has also moved to El Prat airport, where the plane had gone to coordinate the spotlight victims has been created with Aena.

Philip VI: "I want to express my sincere condolences to the families"

The president of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, has also comoparecido to the media and expressed its condolences to all the families of the passengers. He also reported that he has maintained contacts with the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and the leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sanchez, and has suspended its institutional agenda for Tuesday. But it has appeared in the press room of the Palau de la Generalitat, delivering "condolences sense," although it has not provided data on the number of Spanish residents would have on the flight, because you must first inform the families. The Catalan president has said that "the entire operating" of his government is "up" and are in collaboration with the State authorities and the French.
 

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel García-Margallo, activated emergency consular protocol within their department after learning of the accident. The Consulate of Spain in Marseille (France) and Dusseldorf (Germany) have also been alerted. García-Margallo is located in Paris accompanying the Kings in his state visit.

Area inaccessible

The French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has shifted to where the plane crashed to coordinate rescue efforts, reported Valls, who added that for now the causes of the fatal incident are unknown and has been launched an interministerial cell.

The device has disappeared from the radar in the Alpes de Haute Provence and crashed near the town of Barcelonnette. Two helicopters from the Gendarmerie have confirmed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have located the device near Prads-Haute-Bléone between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonnette.
 

Flight 9535 Airbus A320 plane was scheduled to leave at 9.35 Barcelona Airport and has done so at 10.01. The specialized web 'Flightradar24 "which keeps track of flights, missed at 10:39 hours flying at an altitude of 6,800 feet (2,000 meters high). The plane dropped a distress call before crashing, as reported by the General Directorate of the French Civil Aviation through a statement.
 

According to Reuters, the device had been in service since 1991 and has since flown only with companies of the Lufthansa Group, which owns Germanwings, the "low-cost" holding subsidiary.

Emergency services

abc.es madrid
 

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has enabled a phone exclusively for those who have information or need to collect information on passenger plane has crashed in the French Alps, and they were traveling in Spanish and German citizens. The phone, which belongs to the Consular Emergency Unit, is 913948900, and also serves on email: unidaddecrisis@maec.es, as reported by the Embassy of Spain in Germany through its official account on Twitter .
 

- For its part, Lufthansa and German Wings have two phone lines to contact the toll free number 0800 11 33 55 77 900 808 890 and to inform and assist the families of passengers.

- An emergency device composed of doctors and psychologists has moved to El Prat airport in Barcelona to meet the families of the victims of the plane crash this morning in the French Alps. According to informed sources told ABC Emergency Medical System (EMS), the team of care for families is composed of three medical units and between four and six psychologists, although not rule out expanding it if necessary.

Relatives of the victims arrive at Barcelona airport

 

Relatives of passengers on the Airbus A320 arriving at Barcelona airport

The Kings of Spain during the meetings held on Tuesday at the Elysee

Via:ABC

Via:CNN