German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to the crash site in the French Alps, where a Germanwings Airbus 320 went down with 150 people on board.
“It’s a moment of great sorrow,” Merkel said in the wake of Germanwings Flight 4U9525 crash Tuesday morning on its way from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf, Germany.
READ MORE: 150 feared dead in Germanwings 9525 Airbus crash
She said Germany, Spain and France are all in “deep mourning” for the victims of the disaster.
French President Francois Hollande said it was “a tragedy on our soil” and warned it’s not likely anyone survived.
(Translation: I want to express my full solidarity to the families of the victims of the air accident. It is a mourning, a tragedy.)
Among those believed to be on board were 16 students from the same German school, scheduled to return to Germany along with their teachers, as well as two babies. Details about other passengers onboard the Airbus 320 are still emerging.
Lufthansa, Germany’s leading airline, which owns the discount airline Germanwings, said it would be a “dark day” for the company.
Airbus, the maker of the jet carrying the 144 passengers and six crew, said it would dispatch an “Airbus go-team of technical advisors” to assist with the investigation into what led to the crash.
“The concerns and sympathy of the Airbus employees go to the families, friends and loved ones affected by the accident of Flight 4U9525,” Airbus said in a statement.
READ MORE: A look at the safety record of the A320
Meantime, World leaders have echoed their French, Spanish and German counterparts in expressing their sympathies for the families of Flight 4U9525 passengers and crew.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson
Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular) Lynne Yelich
British Prime Minister David Cameron
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Euorpean Parliament
Germanwings used social media to mourn the losses, darkening its logo on its official Twitter account.
The Cologne-based airline offered “thoughts and prayers” to families and friends of the crash victims.
(Translation: … All employees of Germanwings and Lufthansa are in deep concern…with their thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew members.)
Fellow airline companies and their staff have joined in, sharing their sympathies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
https://instagram.com/p/0nJjKkk5XG/
Other social media tributes have poured in, using hashtags such as #4U9525 and #PrayFor4U9525.
https://instagram.com/p/0nc4YZruAh/?tagged=4u9525
Comments