Germanwings crash: Search and recovery operation resumes

Search and recovery operations of the Germanwings crash site have continued after the retrieval of the first black box
 

Searc and recovery operations continue on site of the Germanwings crash near Digne
Searc and recovery operations continue on site of the Germanwings crash near Digne

Following Tuesday’s crash of the Germanwings plane, a search and recovery operation on the scene of the crash, has continued.

The crash claimed the lives of all 150 people on-board and occurred near Digne. One of the black box recorders has been retrieved and officials say that it was expected to yield some data in spite of the heavy damages.

Among the victims were 35 Spanish citizens, three Britons and 72 German citizens including a group of sixteen pupils returning from an exchange trip.

The Airbus A320 - flight 4U 9525 - from Barcelona to Duesseldorf crashed after an eight-minute rapid descent, and it is not believed to have sent out a distress signal.

German, French and Spanish leaders have now arrived at the crash site.

Earlier on, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that three Britons were believed to be on board.

Other victims were believed to be from Australia, Argentina, Iran, Venezuela, the US, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Denmark and Israel, but the official list was still being compiled.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the plane's cockpit voice recorder which had been recovered by a helicopter team on Tuesday - was damaged but could still provide information

Transport Minister Alain Vidalies confirmed that if voices had been recorded, the investigation would proceed "fairly quickly".

Investigators are still searching for the second "black box".

Earlier today, the White House confirmed that it did not suspect the accident to be an act of terrorism.