The remains
of 150 people who were killed in a March plane crash can be sent home to their
families, French authorities have said. The victims aboard the Germanwings
flight were identified using DNA analysis.
Deutsche Welle, 19 May 2015
Information
on the victims has been forwarded to Germanwings parent company Lufthansa,
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said in a statement on Tuesday, allowing the
bodies to be repatriated and laid to rest.
"The
150 death certificates have been signed, as well as the permits for
burial," Robin said.
French
crime experts had previously identified all of the people killed in the crash,
by matching the DNA samples found at the crash site to those provided by
passengers' relatives.
The
identification process, which had lasted six weeks, was cojmpleted on Friday,
the prosecutors said.
The experts
had previously predicted it could last between two and three months.
Co-pilot
'rehearsed' the crash
The Airbus
320, belonging to German low-cost carrier Germanwings, flew into a mountainside
in French Alps on March 24, while on route to Düsseldorf from Barcelona.
Investigators
believe that the plane's co-pilot, 27-year old Andreas Lubitz, intentionally
crashed Flight 4U 9525, killing himself and 149 other people aboard. Almost
half of the victims were German, another 51 were Spanish nationals.
Lubitz had
struggled with severe depression and suicidal tendencies in the past, and was
written off sick from work a number of times, including on the day of the
crash.
In its
interim report, French aviation safety authority BEA said that Lubitz
"rehearsed" putting the plane to a descent several times on the
outbound flight to Barcelona, prior to the crash.
On the way
back to Germany, the young co-pilot allegedly locked the captain out of the
cockpit and put the aircraft into a nosedive. The flight recorder, retreived
several days after the crash, showed the pilot's frantic efforts to open the
door, which is heavily re-enforced to prevent hijackings.
After the
crash, several countries announced they would require that two people inside
the cockpit at all times, which is already a rule in the United States.
A full
report on the crash is expected to be published within a year of the incident,
as is typical within the industry.
Relatives
to fill out a form
Robert
Tansill Oliver, father of one of the victims, said he and his wife received
notification that DNA was matched with remains of their son. They also received
a form they needed to fill out so they can have their son's remains sent to
Spain in June.
They were
also invited to Paris to identify items possibly belonging to him.
Oliver, a
retired American teacher who has lived in Barcelona for decades, said he had no
complaints about how long it took to identify his son's body.
"I
hope they have done the job correctly," Oliver said. "Better to get
it done right than quickly."
dj/msh (Reuters, AP, dpa. AFP)
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