March 24 Five years after the Germanwings accident: Memorial due to coronavirus canceled
Mourners organized an unconventional service on Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash, which killed all 150 people in southeastern France.
The initial service, which was set to include victims’ relatives from Germany, Spain and other countries had to be canceled due to coronavirus. Instead, the mayors of two French municipalities in Vernet, close to the site of the crash, laid wreaths and held a minute’s silence. In Haltern am See in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, all church bells rang at 10:41 a.m. (9:41 a.m. UTC) to commemorate the exact time that it occurred, according to broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Seventy-two Germans were killed, including 16 high school students and two teachers. The flight was en route from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf, Germany.
Investigators determined that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally caused the disaster. They also found that he had been searching for “ways to commit suicide” and “cockpit doors and their security provisions” in the days preceding the crash. He had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies and had been declared “unfit to work” by his doctor.
The disaster sent shockwaves throughout Europe and resulted in regulations requiring two pilots to be present in the cockpit at all times.
Mourners organized an unconventional service on Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash, which killed all 150 people in southeastern France.
The initial service, which was set to include victims’ relatives from Germany, Spain and other countries had to be canceled due to coronavirus. Instead, the mayors of two French municipalities in Vernet, close to the site of the crash, laid wreaths and held a minute’s silence. In Haltern am See in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, all church bells rang at 10:41 a.m. (9:41 a.m. UTC) to commemorate the exact time that it occurred, according to broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Seventy-two Germans were killed, including 16 high school students and two teachers. The flight was en route from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf, Germany.
Investigators determined that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally caused the disaster. They also found that he had been searching for “ways to commit suicide” and “cockpit doors and their security provisions” in the days preceding the crash. He had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies and had been declared “unfit to work” by his doctor.
The disaster sent shockwaves throughout Europe and resulted in regulations requiring two pilots to be present in the cockpit at all times.
