Germanwings crash: Who was on the plane?

Opera singers, a group of exchange students and an architect were among the 150 people aboard the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday.

Leaders in France and Spain have said they don’t believe there are any survivors.

Details are still emerging about the 144 passengers and six crew members on the Airbus A320, which was flying from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, when it crashed.

Spain’s King Felipe VI said “high numbers of Spaniards, Germans and Turks” were on the aircraft. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said it’s likely British nationals were on the plane, but officials have yet to confirm how many were aboard.

Weeping relatives arrived throughout the day at Barcelona’s airport, where a terminal was blocked off for them. Medics and psychologists were in private space to assist families.

Here’s what we know about the victims and their nationalities so far:

Germany

There were at least 67 Germans onboard, Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said. But he cautioned that figure could change as new information comes to light.

Sixteen students and two teachers from Haltern, Germany, were on the plane, Winkelmann said.

“The whole city is shocked and we can feel it everywhere,” Haltern Mayor Bodo Klimpel said at a news conference. “This is the worst, what happened … what you can imagine.”

The German students were returning home after spending a week at the Giola Institute, in the town of Llinars del Valles, near Barcelona, Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported.

Some of their relatives heard about the crash on the news. Some parents went to the airport while others rushed to the school, Joseph Koenig Gymnasium, Klimpel said.

The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona posted a statement on its Facebook page saying that two German opera singers who performed there this month in a production of “Siegfried,” Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner, had perished in the crash.

Radner was returning to Germany with her husband and child, a spokesman for the production company said.

Bryjak, a bass baritone, had performed in the Deutsche Oper am Rhein ensemble since 1996, the Dusseldorf opera house said on Twitter.

Japan

Two Japanese nationals were booked for the flight, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Satoshi Nagata and Junichi Sato were scheduled to fly, but the ministry was still trying to confirm whether both men were actually on board the flight.

Nagata and Sato are residents of Dusseldorf, Germany.

Colombia

Two Colombian nationals, María del Pilar Tejada and Luis Eduardo Medrano, lost their lives on the flight, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said.

Medrano, 36, was an architect who had been working in Equatorial Guinea, according to the Fundacion Universitaria de Popayan, where he had studied.

Tejada, a 33-year-old economist, had been visiting her husband in Barcelona and was returning to Germany, where she was completing her doctorate at the University of Cologne, Colombia’s Caracol Radio reported.

Australia

At least two Australians were killed, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

Carol Friday turned 68 the day before the crash. She and her son Greig, 29, were on vacation in Europe.

“Our family is in deep disbelief and crippled with sadness and would like to ask for privacy,” the family said in a statement released by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“Carol was a registered nurse, midwife and maternal and child health nurse, most recently working for the City of Casey,” the family said. Greig Friday “was a loving son to Carol and Dave and an exceptional brother to his sister Alex.”

Officials are working to determine whether other Australian citizens or permanent residents were aboard the flight, Bishop said.

Argentina

Two Argentines were aboard the plane, the state-run Telam news agency reported, citing consular officials.

The Netherlands

The Dutch foreign ministry said there was at least one Dutch national on board.

Belgium

Belgium’s foreign ministry said one Belgian national was on the plane.

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