MADRID – Soraya de Santamaria, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, said the country has commenced three days of official mourning for the 150 victims of the Germanwings flight 4U9525 which crashed on Tuesday morning.
She said on Wednesday in Madrid that the three-days mourning began at midnight on Tuesday.
De Santamaria said Spain would collaborate fully with Germany and France in investigating the causes of the accident.
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She said Spain would send a police scientific investigation team to the crash site to help in the identification of the crash victims.
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De Santamaria said though still unconfirmed, 45 Spaniards are thought to be among those who died in the crash.
“We know how many Spanish surnames were on the passenger list but we need to carry out the tasks of confirming that,” she said.
“The Spanish government cannot legally publish a list of the victims’ names without the airline’s agreement,’’ she said.
De Santamaria also confirmed that the ministry of public works had set a website for families of the crash victims, while Spain’s Public Works Minister, Ana Pastor had already traveled to Marseille.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy ,was scheduled to visit the area where the Airbus 320 crashed on Wednesday.
Similarly, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain returned to Madrid on Tuesday afternoon after deciding, as a result of the tragedy, to cancel their three-day State visit to France.
Before returning to Spain, Felipe VI made a joint appearance alongside French President, Francois Hollande, in which both gave their condolences to victims’ families. (Xinhua/NAN)