DNA of 78 victims of Germanwings crash identified

Investigators say that they have isolated the DNA of 78 victims, five days after the crash of Germanwings flight 4U 9525 in the French Alps, which claimed the lives of all 150 people on board.

Investigators have however, denied the German media reports that body parts of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had been identified. The cockpit voice recorder has suggested that Lubitz crashed the plane “deliberately.”

A transcript leaked to German media revealed the frenzied final minutes of the flight, with the pilot, locked out of the cockpit, shouting "open the damn door!"

Authorities have said that the 27-year-old pilot, Lubitz, was being treated for psychological issues and had hidden aspects of his medical condition from his employer. The police found antidepressants during a search of his apartment on Thursday.

Recovery teams have so far only reached the mountainside on foot or by helicopter to continue the search for human remains as well as parts of the aircraft, including the flight data recorder which is still missing. Teams have had to face several difficulties like extreme weather conditions and treacherous terrain in the recovery missions.

Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said an access road was being built to the remote site and that work on the road, which would give all-terrain vehicles access to the area, could be completed by Monday evening.