Above, one of the black boxes recovered from the Airbus A320
An aerial view of the debris at the crash site of the Germanwings A320, which went down with 150 people on board while en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf.Thomas Koehler (EFE)An aerial view of the debris at the crash site of the Germanwings plane that crashed on Tuesday morning in a part of the French Alps known as Seyne.Thomas Koehler (EFE)A helicopter flies over the area where the Germanwings flight crashed in Seyne, in the French Alps.Claude Paris (AP)German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (center), French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal (second from right) and Spanish Public Works Minister Ana Pastor (right) arrive in Seyne, in the French Alps.Thomas Koehler (EFE)A student lights a candle outside the Joseph-Koenig gym in Germany. Sixteen of the passengers on the flight that crashed in the French Alps were German students returning home after spending a week at a Barcelona high school as part of an exchange program.Martin Meissner (AP)Mountain rescue personnel getting ready to access the crash site in Seyne.Patrick Aventurier (GETTY)The vice-president for Europe of the Lufthansa Group, Heike Birlenbach (second from left), said she could not provide information about the causes of the accident, nor confirm the victims’ identities, because that would be “to speculate.” Birlenbach said the company was focusing on the investigation and on supporting the friends and families of the victims.Albert GarcíaRelatives arrive at El Prat airport in Barcelona. According to France Info, the French public broadcaster, the accident took place in Val d’Allos, an area of ski runs accessible only by hiking trails or by helicopter.Albert GarcíaRescue personnel in Seyne. French authorities have located one of the black boxes of the Germanwings A320 that crashed in the Alps on Tuesday.Jean-Paul Pelissier (REUTERS)Family members arriving at Barcelona airport on Tuesday. Catalan parties have expressed their condolences to friends and relatives of the victims of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps.Gianluca BattistaFrench Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (center) arrives in Seyne. Prime Minister Manuel Valls has ruled out the possibility of finding any survivors.Anne-Christine Poujoulat (AFP)Relatives of the victims arriving at Barcelona airport. The Catalan head of interior affairs, Ramon Espadaler, said families were in “a state of shock” and assured that the regional government’s top priority was to provide support.Emilio Morenatti (AP)Some of the helicopters used to access the crash site. Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said in a press conference in Cologne that 67 German nationals were aboard the plane that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday. But he added that this figure was provisional and could vary.Jean-Paul Pelissier (REUTERS)German relatives of the crash victims arriving at Düsseldorf airport. Sixteen of the passengers on board the Germanwings flight were teenage students returning home after an exchange program in Llinars del Vallès (Barcelona).Frank Augstein (AP)An emergency helicopter flying overhead in Seyne. The French executive is not ruling out any hypothesis, including the possibility of a terrorist attack.Jean-Paul Pelissier (REUTERS)Relatives of the victims stand outside Barcelona airport. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said the black box found in the Alps would shed light on the causes of the crash, and asked for caution when it came to making hypotheses.Albert GarcíaEmergency personnel and French police officers in Seyne, near the crash site. The French General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) told EFE news agency that the plane did not issue a distress call prior to the crash.Boris Horvat (AFP)Relatives of the victims of the Germanwings accident arriving at El Prat airport in Barcelona.Albert García (AP)A team of French firefighters gets ready to depart from Digne-les Bains en route to the crash site.Jean-Paul Pelissier (REUTERS)The Spanish royals during a meeting with French President François Hollande at the Elysée Palace in Paris. This was Felipe VI’s first state visit to France, but the agenda was canceled following news of the accident.Francisco Gómez / Casa SM El Rey (EFE)Relatives of the victims arriving at El Prat airport in Barcelona. The A320 aircraft had around 58,300 hours of flight time and been used on around 46,700 flights since it began operating in 1991, according to information provided by the maker, Airbus.Quique García (AFP)German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she would travel to the crash site in the French Alps, where the accident has caused “tremendous pain” in Germany and in Spain.TOBIAS SCHWARZ (afp)Three Germanwings employees offer information at the airline desk inside Barcelona airport.Albert GarcíaRelatives of the victims of the Germanwings flight that crashed in southern France arriving at Düsseldorf airport.Frank Augstein (AP)The flight arrivals information panel at Düsseldorf airport. The slot for Germanwings flight 9525 is blank. French President François Hollande has expressed his condolences.Frank Augstein (AP)A photograph of the Germanwings Airbus 320, license plate D-AIPX, taken on September 11, 2014 at Madrid’s Barajas airport. The aircraft departed from Barcelona at 9.55am on Tuesday under flight number GW9525 and crashed in the French Alps.Sergio Pérez Aguado
