European Leaders Express Condolences to Families of Airbus A320 Passengers

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told Reuters that 45 passengers of the Airbus A320 are believed to be Spanish nationals. He offered his condolences to the families of the passengers of the flight 4U9525.

However, the Spanish prime minister and Catalonian President Artur Mas could not confirm the information about the possibility of over 40 Spanish nationals aboard the Airbus A320.

"No, I cannot confirm [they are Spanish nationals]. Bearing a Spanish surname does not necessarily mean that they are Spanish. The information will appear soon," Mas told journalists. The Catalonian president added that local authorities were setting up a team of psychologists and medics to help the families of the victims.

Mas also said that authorities in Catalonia's capital of Barcelona were cooperating with authorities in Madrid and Paris, as they sought to organize transportation to the crash site.

European Commissioner for Transport said via Twitter that EU services assisted in the investigation of the plane crash.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK would do everything to assist the French emergency services.

Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström offered their condolences to the families and friends of the Airbus passengers as well.

Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel said his country was ready to provide any assistance to France over the Airbus crash.

Germanwings is a low-cost affiliate of German airline Lufthansa, which was created in 1997. In the wake of the tragedy, Lufthansa has changed the colors of its logo.

As officials are under way to the crash site, photos of the recovery operation in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, southern France, have been released.

Recovery operation near #Germanwings crash site #4U9525 in #Alps #France