Three Britons among those who died on Germanwings flight

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has announced that three Britons were among the victims of Tuesday’s Germanwings air crash in the French Alps.

“This is a tragic incident for those involved and their families, I send my deepest condolences to those who have lost family or friends,” he said in a brief statement to the press on Wednesday. “I don’t want to speculate on numbers of British nationals involved until we have completed our checks on all the passenger information. 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.

“We currently believe that three British people have been killed in this tragedy but we can’t rule out the possibility there are further British people involved,” Hammond told reporters.

A total of 150 people were traveling in the Airbus that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday. While official victim lists have not yet been released, the loved ones and friends of some of those who died have publicly expressed their losses of the following people.

Ariadna Falguera was a member of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and wife of Lluis Juncà, who is chief of staff to ERC leader Oriol Junqueras. Falguera was from Olot, and worked for fashion company Paramita. She was traveling to Germany for work. The couple had a young daughter.

Two opera singers who had performed at the Barcelona Liceo. The Gran Teatre del Liceu in the Catalan capital has confirmed that Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner are among the victims of the accident. Both had taken part in a recent production of the opera Siegfried, which finished on Monday. Radner was traveling with her baby and her husband. The family lived in Düsseldorf.

Carles Milla Masanas. A businessman, member of the Rotary club and a fan of rowing, Carles Milla Masanas was one of the passengers on the flight according to confirmation from the company he ran in Girona. He had a wife and two-year-old son. He was traveling to a food fair in Cologne.

A father expecting his fourth child. Josep Sabaté Casellas, aged 38, leaves behind three children aged between three and seven years old, as well as his wife Marta, who was pregnant with their fourth child. He was traveling to the central headquarters of the textile multinational Esprit, where he had been working as a director for eight months.

Traveling with her seven-month-old baby. Marina Bandrés López-Belio, from Jaca in Huesca, was 37. She was traveling on the plane with her seven-month-old baby. Sources close to the family told news agency Efe that she had traveled to Zaragoza from her home in Manchester in the UK to attend the funeral of an uncle. She had taken the flight to Düsseldorf given that there was no direct flight to the northern English city.

Thomas Treppe. A fashion consultant of German origin, Treppe was traveling to Düsseldorf to explore new lines of business for the fashion company Surkana, according to sources from the company. He spoke German, Spanish, Dutch and Danish, and had been linked professionally to Barcelona since at least 2007.

Manuel Rives. A dedicated union member with three children, Manuel Rives was 52 and was married with three children. He was the union delegate for UGT in Delphi. He had been a member of UGT for 11 years, and had been “deeply involved” in the company works committee for the last two years, according to his colleagues.

The teacher heading to see her children. Pilar Vicente Sebastián worked for 25 years as a teacher at the Mare de Déu del Pilar school, in a small town in Valencia. She was the principal there for seven years. The Meliana (Valencia) native was 55 and was traveling to Düsseldorf to see her children, who are currently studying there on an Erasmus exchange program.

Rogelio Oficialdegui. Human resources chief Rogelio Oficialdegui was 62 and had long been saying to the staff at the Delphi plant in Sant Cugat del Vallès that he wanted to retire. The collective agreement he was negotiating on Monday afternoon was due to be his last. “He was highly dedicated to the factory,” explained a friend from outside Delphi yesterday.

A “loyal” German supporter of Valencia. Sonia Cercek was a huge fan of Valencia Football Club. She would sometimes visit the Mestalla stadium to watch her team, and, with her husband Oliver, was a regular whenever it came to play in Germany and central Europe. “The president [of the club], Amadeo Salvo, has been in touch with her loved ones to express the condolences of the club,” Valencia Football Club announced via a press release.

With reporting by Dani Cordero, Jesús García, Jordi Pueyo, Clara Gil, José María Jiménez Gálvez, Paola Obelleiro, Sally Palomino and Elsa García de Blas.