Tragic Accident of Airbus A320 in the French Alps

Amongst those feared dead were 144 passengers and 6 crew members from the budget airline Germanwings. It is thought that the majority of passengers were Spanish and German as the flight was travelling between Barcelona and Dusseldorf when it crashed in the southern French Alps near the small village of Seyne, around an hour north of Nice on the French coast. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said that it is also possible that there were British nationals on board and that UK is on standby to offer any assistance that is needed.

"However, based on the information available to us, it is sadly likely that there were some British nationals on board the flight. We are providing consular assistance and will give further help as more information becomes available. We are working closely with the French, German and Spanish authorities, and the airline, to establish the facts. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, and UK disaster victim identification experts, are also standing by to offer assistance to the French authorities, if required." - Philip Hammond

Around 60 soldiers from a regiment in Gap have been called in to assist the hundreds of PGHM, pompiers (fire service) and other emergency workers who are searching this huge area of around 4 acres in remote mountains. Representatives from Spain and Germany have also joined the search and recovery mission. They do not currently think that there are any survivors.

The black box from the cockpit of the A320 Germanwings flight was recovered and arrived in Paris this morning for analysis. It is hoped that this will bring some explanation and clarity to the situation and to the events leading up to yesterdays tragic accident. There was no mayday signal received from the plane before it went sown.

When asked about the possibility of a terrorist act, the Minister of Transport, Segolene Royal replied: "It's not the track that is favoured today." Ms Royal also confirmed that the black box found at the scene of the drama was well "the cockpit voice recorder, it is not the black box of the technical parameters." "We'll know in the day as possible what is the degree of exploitation of the black box."

The cause of the crash, the worst air disaster in France for more than 30 years, remains unsure. In Spain, three days of national mourning have been declared. The victims are thought to included at least 67 Germans, some of whom were school children on an exchange with Spanish students and two opera singers of Düsseldorf - Oleg Bryjak Maria Radner. The majority of the rest are thought to be Spanish but may also include one Belgian, a Dane, two Australians, two Colombians and two Argentines.

Whatever the reason for this tragic accident our thoughts go out to the families and friends of the victims.