Sweden pays tribute to Alps plane crash victims
Swedes were among those offering condolences to the families of victims after an airbus A320 carrying 150 people crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday.
LIVE BLOG: Read the latest on the plane crash
Europe was in shock after a Germanwings plane heading from Barcelona in Spain to Düsseldorf in Germany crashed near the town of Dignes in the southern French Alps at around 11am on Tuesday. All 144 passengers, including two babies, and six crew members were believed to have died.
Germanwings operates flights out of both Gothenburg City Airport and Stockholm's Arlanda airport. No Swedes were believed to be among the casualties although the deaths of Spanish, German and Turkish passengers had been confirmed by Tuesday afternoon.
PLANE CRASH: What we know so far
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström was among those leading the condolences for the families of the victims on Tuesday.
Horrible news of German airliner crash in the French Alps. My thoughts go out to families of the victims.
— Margot Wallström (@margotwallstrom) March 24, 2015
And Sweden's Ambassador to France, Veronika Wand-Danielsson tweeted: "A terrible plane accident in the Alps. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and we hope there are survivors!"
Un terrible accident d'avion dans les alpes. Nos pensées vont aux victimes et leurs familles en espérant qu'il y ai des survivants! #A320
— Ambassadeur de Suède (@AmbassadeurSE) March 24, 2015
Airbus is one of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers. The Airbus A320 involved in the crash was 24 years old. Swedish air industry expert Christer Åström told public broadcaster SVT its age was not out of the ordinary.
IN PICTURES: Alps plane crash
"The plane is comparatively old, but it's not exceptional. Aeroplanes get scrapped because they're uneconomical, not because they're too old," he said on Tuesday, commenting on the crash.
He added that it was too early to speculate on what had caused the crash, emphasizing that there was no evidence yet of what had occurred.
"But there is a chain of different things that can result in a disaster," he added.
Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of Germanwings, said at a press conference on Tuesday that 67 Germans were believed to be among those dead.
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LIVE BLOG: Read the latest on the plane crash
Europe was in shock after a Germanwings plane heading from Barcelona in Spain to Düsseldorf in Germany crashed near the town of Dignes in the southern French Alps at around 11am on Tuesday. All 144 passengers, including two babies, and six crew members were believed to have died.
Germanwings operates flights out of both Gothenburg City Airport and Stockholm's Arlanda airport. No Swedes were believed to be among the casualties although the deaths of Spanish, German and Turkish passengers had been confirmed by Tuesday afternoon.
PLANE CRASH: What we know so far
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström was among those leading the condolences for the families of the victims on Tuesday.
Horrible news of German airliner crash in the French Alps. My thoughts go out to families of the victims.
— Margot Wallström (@margotwallstrom) March 24, 2015
And Sweden's Ambassador to France, Veronika Wand-Danielsson tweeted: "A terrible plane accident in the Alps. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and we hope there are survivors!"
Un terrible accident d'avion dans les alpes. Nos pensées vont aux victimes et leurs familles en espérant qu'il y ai des survivants! #A320
— Ambassadeur de Suède (@AmbassadeurSE) March 24, 2015
Airbus is one of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers. The Airbus A320 involved in the crash was 24 years old. Swedish air industry expert Christer Åström told public broadcaster SVT its age was not out of the ordinary.
IN PICTURES: Alps plane crash
"The plane is comparatively old, but it's not exceptional. Aeroplanes get scrapped because they're uneconomical, not because they're too old," he said on Tuesday, commenting on the crash.
He added that it was too early to speculate on what had caused the crash, emphasizing that there was no evidence yet of what had occurred.
"But there is a chain of different things that can result in a disaster," he added.
Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of Germanwings, said at a press conference on Tuesday that 67 Germans were believed to be among those dead.
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