Advertisement

Forensic scientists find 78 different DNA strands so far at Germanwings crash site

Six days after a Germanwings plane crashed in the French Alps killing all 150 people on board and the search for human remains is making slow progress. An access road is being built to the remote site so that larger pieces of wreckage too heavy to be carried by helicopters can be removed. Meanwhile forensic scientists say they have identified 78 different DNA strands but have denied recovering body parts of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. Investigators are keen to discover if Lubitz had been on any medication when, as the cockpit voice recorder suggests, he crashed the plane deliberately. They are also trying to build up a picture of the 27-year-old whom it has been suggested had in the past suffered from depression although his employers Lufthansa have said they were unaware of any illness affecting Lubitz. The German newspaper Bild has published a transcript of the final minutes of the flight as caught on the flight recorder. Such information has drawn criticism from the German Pilots Association which wants the investigation to be completed before further conclusions are reached. They have pointed out that the flight data recorder has not yet been recovered and that the reasons that led to the crash cold only be determined once all data has been examined. In Lubitz’s home town on Sunday candles were lit for all the crash victims. An official memorial service is to be held on April 17 in Cologne Cathedral which will be attended by the German Chancellor and dignitaries from Spain and France.