Victims of Germanwings Alps crash

Most of those on board were Spanish or German but others came from as far afield as Australia and Colombia. - File pic

PARIS: Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 that crashed with no survivors in the French Alps on Tuesday was carrying 144 passengers and six crew from more than a dozen countries.

Most of those on board were Spanish or German but others came from as far afield as Australia and Colombia.

Authorities are in the process of confirming the nationalities of the victims, a task complicated by a number of travellers with dual nationality which might explain the discrepancy in some of the figures.

Here is what is known of the victims:

Germany

Germanwings confirmed that at least 72 Germans were on board, including two babies and 16 teenage school pupils and their two female teachers from the Joseph Koenig Gymnasium in Haltern am See, north of Duesseldorf.

The group had been on a week-long exchange trip in Llinars del Valles near Barcelona, paying a reciprocal visit after Spanish students came to Haltern in December.

Kazakh-German opera singer Oleg Bryjak, 54, who had just performed the character Alberich in Richard Wagner's "Siegfried" at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu was also among the dead.

Spain

At least 49 Spaniards died, junior security minister Francisco Martinez told a news conference. Germanwings executive Thomas Winkelmann, however, said the latest estimate was that 35 passengers were Spanish.

Reports in Spain and Britain named one victim as Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio, 37, and her baby. Originally from Jaca in the Spanish Pyrenees but living in Rochdale near Manchester in Britain, Lopez-Belio had been attending a relative's funeral in Spain.

Other victims, according to sources and reports, included a young married couple as well as numerous local Catalan business figures, including four members of the same family.

Other Europeans

At least three British nationals died, according to British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

One Belgian, one Dutch and one Dane have also been confirmed by the airline or local authorities.

United States

Germanwings said two Americans were on board, while French Prime Minister Manuel Valls put the number at one earlier in the day.

South Americans

Two Argentines were on board, according to Germanwings. A third, who lives in Paraguay, also died, according to his brother.

Colombians Maria del Pilar Tejada and Luis Eduardo Medrano died, the Colombian foreign ministry said. Germanwings said only there was only one Colombian victim.

Two Venezuelans were also on board, according to the airline.

Australia

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said two Australians were on board.

Japan

The Japanese foreign ministry said two Japanese men were on the passenger list -- Satoshi Nagata, who was in his 60s and Junichi Sato, in his 40s. Both men lived in Duesseldorf. "It is very likely that they were on board," a ministry official told AFP in Tokyo.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's foreign ministry confirmed that three of its citizens -- Erbol and Adil Imankulov and Aizhan Isengaliyeva -- were among the dead. The ministry said that it was trying to confirm whether a fourth passenger, Yelena Bles, held Kazakh citizenship following information from Germany authorities.

Others

Two Iranians and one Israeli were on the flight, according to Germanwings.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday that other countries with nationals on the Barcelona-Duesseldorf flight came from Morocco and Mexico.

The 'lucky ones'

A Swedish third division football team booked on the flight changed their booking at the last minute after deciding to change their route home.

Upon arrival at Barcelona airport, the Dalkurd FF team from Borlaenge, in central Sweden, decided the stopover in Duesseldorf would be too long and re-booked themselves onto three other flights flying via Zurich and Munich.

Sporting director Adil Kizil said: "We were supposed to be on that plane."

- Source: AFP