Operation on Collecting Debris of Crashed Germanwings Plane Completed

The operation on recovering the debris of the Germanwings plane, which crashed in the French Alps in March, was completed on Monday.

The fragments of the Airbus A320 have been stored in a hangar near the site of the crash, Deutsche Welle reports.

The collection of the debris continued more than two weeks, but the decontamination, which will follow suit, will be a much longer process.

First the authorities have to establish what parts of the soil were contaminated by toxic substances, which included four tonnes of kerosene on board the plane.

A representative of Lufthansa, who is tasked with the restoration of the site, said that the aim was to complete the works before the coming of winter as snow will rule out any operation.

The Germanwings plane was conducting flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, when it crashed in the French Alps, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members on board.

According to investigators, the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had a history of depression, deliberately initiated the descent of the plane after locking the captain out of the cockpit.

It also emerged that doctors had issued him sick notes on several occasions, including on the day of the flight.

A memorial service was held in Cologne to commemorate the victims of the crash, which was attended by relatives and high-level officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.