Tearful mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and loved ones are currently holding their breath as they await the fate of their loved ones who were on board the doomed Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps this morning.
Families were led through Dusseldorf Airport, where the plane was meant to land just before midday, to find out what happened to their nearest and dearest.
It is also understood that a class of 16 school children and two teachers were on board the aircraft.
The plane’s black box has now been found by search and rescue personnel who have arrived at the crash site.
150 people, including two babies, were aboard the Airbus aircraft when it crashed into the southern French mountains this morning.
Emergency services are currently scrambling to get to the crash site as soon as possible, and it is expected that it will take up to three hours before they arrive due to the mountainous terrain.
Spain’s deputy prime minister announced that 45 passengers aboard the Germanwings flight 4U9525 were Spanish nationals. 67 Germans are also believed to be on board.
The flight was travelling from Barcelona in Spain to Dusseldorf in Germany.
The captain had flight experience of over 10 years for both Germanwings and Lufthansa, Germanwings’ owner, and has logged more than 6,000 flight hours, according to a spokesman for Greenwings.
Emergency services are currently scrambling to get to the crash site as soon as possible, and it has been expected that it will take up to three hours before they arrive due to the severely mountainous terrain.
The aircraft dropped from 40,000 feet all the way down to a mere 10,000 feet over the course of less than ten minutes before the crash, although the speed remained the same.
The final radar signal received by French air traffic control showed that the plane was at a height of an extremely low 6,800 feet as it rapidly descended towards the Alpes-de-Haute Provence of the southern French mountains.
The French president Francois Hollande earlier stated that no survivors are expected to be found in the wreckage of the craft.
Initial helicopter reconnaissance found sightings of debris and wreckage spread over a 5 acres of the Alps.
Following the crash, shares in Airbus and Lufthansa fell sharply on the stock market.