The French Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that 150 people were on board the plane, which included 144 passengers and six crew members. The Germanwings plane was bound for Dusseldorf after taking off from Barcelona.
“@SPIEGELONLINE: Haltern trauert um 16 Schüler und zwei Lehrerinnen http://t.co/9JfhUIWi2o #4U9525 #germanwings pic.twitter.com/VcleiWld7H”
— Michael Hübner (@Michael_Huebner) 24 Март 2015
Two babies were among 45 Spanish passengers on board, and 16 children from the same school on an exchange trip were among some 100 Germans who lost their lives in the crash.
A spokeswoman for the northwestern German town of Haltern am See, said that there was reason to believe that 16 school children and two teachers from the town were on the airplane."There is a strong suspicion that the students and teachers were on the doomed airplane. We don't have any official confirmation yet," media reports her as saying.
Relatives of passengers on board #4U9525 arriving to Barcelona airport — picture via @FotografiaPais #Germanwings pic.twitter.com/w7KopotDj1
— Alvaro Ricciardelli (@aaricciardelli) 24 Март 2015
A former Real Madrid player came from same German town as the school children. Christoph Metzelder, a former German defender who also played for Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, was born in Haltern am See.
It is reported that teachers had to suspend classes at the school when the children were told of the tragic news because they all began crying. According to media reports, Bodo Klimpel, mayor of Haltern am See, said teachers and students would receive counselling to help them process their grief.
#Relatives of #Flight #4U9525 passengers arrive at #Dusseldorf airport where #germanwings #plane was due to land pic.twitter.com/fWCVrir4Iy
— rita khoury (@ritakhoury10) 24 Март 2015
Brazilian Rafael Rebello, who lives in Barcelona, said he was still "trembling" after choosing at the last minute to take a different flight to get to a business meeting in Germany and not the Germanwings plane that crashed.
He said that he could not believe that the plane had crashed when he heard the news. "The German client I was due to meet allowed me to bring the meeting forward and I've written to him already to thank him for saving my life."
Two executives from Barcelona's trade fair institution Fira, who had been travelling to a food fair in Cologne, were also among the 144 passengers.
Terrible "@Reuters: PHOTOS: Images as news breaks #Germanwings #crashA320 in French Alps" pic.twitter.com/tugCqRKzbL
— Exen (@Exen) 24 Март 2015
Grieving families have been gathering at Dusseldorf airport in Germany to await news of the rescue and recovery operation. A similar scenario was seen at Terminal 2 of Barcelona’s El Prat airport to await news of the rescue operation.
Students & relatives gathering at school in #Haltern am See. 16 students & 2 teachers were on board #4U9525 @itvnews pic.twitter.com/qDnQlztrfR
— Joanna Partridge (@JoannaPartridge) 24 Март 2015
Some families of the Spanish passengers decided to travel to Nice, France this afternoon; the travel arrangements were organized by Catalonia's regional government.
Pierre-Henry Brandet, spokesman for the Interior Ministry of France, said, “As long as land resources have not arrived we cannot say for certain. Helicopters and several hundred people are involved in the search and rescue,” according to local media reports.
