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| Rescue operation is ongoing in French Alps, where the German Airbus crashed (Image: The Guardian) |
An Airbus A320, flight 4U 9535, of Lufthansa’s low cost company
Germanwings, heading from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, crashed on Tuesday, 24
March, in French Alps. The airplane carried 150 people, among them 144
passengers and six cabin crew members. There are no survivors, according to the
French officials.
Among the passengers died as a result of an airplane crash were at least
67 German citizens, among them 16 school students coming back from vacation.
There were also Spanish and French citizens on the board, according to the
media.
An airplane crash occurred in a remote area in French Alps, what makes
the rescue operation more difficult, though the officials and members of the
rescue team claim the condition of the crashed plane is terrible, as there is
no intact piece of the wings or fuselage. Pictures and footage of the Airbus
crash site appeared recently in media showing the small debris of an Airbus
scattered in the area in a wide range. There is no hope that some of the people
who were on the board could survive.
The cause of an airplane crash remains unknown till now. Germanwings is
a daughter company of German Lufthansa, and its airplanes were always famous
for its high level of safety. An Airbus underwent technical checking and
maintenance recently and was technically sound and in a good condition. This
airplane made its flight from Dusseldorf to Barcelona several hours before it
and was making its back flight to Dusseldorf when the tragedy happened.
The cause of a Germanwings Airbus crash is still unknown, as the
airplane fell during its normal flight. Though later the pilot reported
emergency, and after less than half an hour the plane disappeared from the
radars. Eyewitnesses in French Alps claimed they have seen an airplane flying
too low over the mountains, and it was clear that something was going wrong
with the machine, when it suddenly started to fall.
The so called black boxes of an airplane were already found and sent for
an investigation. They might probably clear the possible cause of the crash, as
the technical conditions of the plane were good, the weather was clear, and the
plane suddenly started to descent in the air after it was flying on normal height.
German, French and Spanish leaders expressed shock over the Airbus
crash. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly cancelled all her
official trips and visits and arrived in France to the crash site. German
President Joachim Gauck has cancelled his Latin America official visit as well.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeir and Minister of Transportation
Alexander Dobrindt headed to the crash site as well.
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| The crash site in the Alps mountains (Image: The Straits Times) |
French President Francois Hollande delivered his statement with the
condolences to the families and friends of the passengers killed as a result of
an airplane crash and said a rescue operation is ongoing in Alps. Fremch Prime
Minister Manuel Valls has also arrived for the emergency meeting of German,
French and Spanish leaders regarding the airplane crash. Spanish King Felipe VI
and his wife Queen Letizia have also arrived in France and thanked France for
its government’s help.
Airbus A320 is a popular, fast and safe passenger jet in Europe, being
often used by people for the short-distance flights. Germanwings in its turn
has a reputation of a safe low cost company, that’s why the Airbus crash
appeared to be a terrible shock for Germany and for the rest of Europe as well.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that was the “black day of grief and
sorrow” for Germany.
It’s worth mentioning also that the terrorist attack version was
excluded by the US White House and European officials as well. Investigation
and rescue operation are ongoing at the moment, while the families of the
victims are getting special treatment in Spain and Germany as well.
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