Germanwings Crash: DNA Experts Work to Identify Victims
SEYNE-LES-ALPES, France — Jewelry and pieces of clothing were being removed from Germanwings crash victims on Friday and helicoptered out, police said Friday, as forensics teams ramped up DNA testing. The grim task of recovering and identifying the 150 bodies intensified after relatives provided DNA samples in emergency tents set up near the crash site in a remote corner of the French Alps. The Germanwings flight smashed into the ground at 430 mph on Tuesday, pulverizing the wreckage."Intense efforts continue today to recover bodies and evidence for identification of victims," French police spokesman Lt. Col. Xavier Vielenc told reporters at a staging site near the town of Seyne-Sur-Alpes. "Investigators are bringing back anything that can help to identify victims such as jewelery, pieces of clothing."He said four helicopters were flying 15 investigators to the mountainside where the Airbus A320 crashed, with each investigator was accompanied by police officer."Each team of two is dropped down into the crash site— like a buddy system in diving," Vielenc explained. "It is an 80 meter 260 feet drop to the crash site by winch from the helicopter."Ten of the 15 investigators are dedicated to DNA analysis, he said. Six more workers are responsible for transferring bodies and evidence back to the Post Command Operations site where tents have been erected for recovery teams and counselors.Victims' relatives — who on Thursday attended a memorial service and visited the area of the crash — "gave DNA in these tents last night," he said.A police officer guarding the tents said some families were expected to return Friday for more counselling and to use the chapel, but he could not say how many.Thirty forensic experts from the national French police service, IRCGN, are working in the tents, Vielenc added. Interpol has said its experts are assisting.Carol Marquis / NBC NewsLt-Colonel Xavier Vielenc, French national police spokesman, at Seyne Sur Alpes.IN-DEPTHCrash Co-Pilot Lubitz's Homes Are Searched, Items SeizedCockpit Voice Recorder Reveals Timeline of TerrorTesting of Pilots' Mental Health in Spotlight— Nancy Ing, Carol Marquis and Alastair Jamieson
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