Two Americans were among the 150 people killed when a German airliner crashed into the Alps after making an expectedly abrupt descent, the CEO of Germanwings said Wednesday.
Germanwings’ chief executive Thomas Winklelmann told reporters in Cologne that the dead also included 72 Germans and 35 Spaniards. There were two victims each from Australia, Argentina, Iran and Venezuela. One each came from Britain, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Denmark, Belgium and Israel. French officials said one Moroccan was almost among the victims.
Raymond Selke, of Nokesville, Va., confirmed that his wife, Yvonne and daughter, Emily were among the victims. The Associated Press also reported that the pair were among the dead.
French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy flew by helicopter to the operations base in the village of Seyne-les-Alpes, near the southeastern France crash site, to pay their respects to the victims and and to greet search teams.
Winkelmann said the list is not complete because the airlines is trying to contact relatives of 27 victims. He also said that the nationalities of some victims are unclear, partly because of dual nationality. British officials have said they have confirmed that three British citizens were among the victims.
Spanish officials put the number of dead Spanish citizens at 49.
Among the passengers aboard the Airbus A320 were two infants, two opera singers and 16 German high school students, French officials said. It was the deadliest crash in France in decades.
– USA Today