- Title: FRANCE-CRASH/ALPS UPDATE Road to be cleared to French Alps crash site - mayor
- Date: 29th March 2015
- Summary: LE VERNET, FRANCE (MARCH 29, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEMORIAL SITE WITH RESCUERS CARRYING DIFFERENT FLAGS BUS CARRYING RELATIVES OF THE CRASH VICTIMS RELATIVES IN BUS VARIOUS OF LOCAL RESIDENTS AND MEDIA LOOKING ON VARIOUS OF MAYOR OF LE VERNET VILLAGE, FRANCOIS BALIQUE, TALKING TO MEDIA CAMERAMAN AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAYOR OF LE VERNET VILLAGE, FRANCOIS BALIQUE, SAYING: "My only worry today is that I am not in a position to welcome every family the same way I did for some. What they expect from me is to talk about that place, who lives here, how we live here, what kind of life there is on the site of the crash, what the site of the crash looks like at each season." BALIQUE BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAYOR OF LE VERNET VILLAGE, FRANCOIS BALIQUE, SAYING: "As soon as the clearing of the track is done we will organise the tracks so that it is accessible by car, this will take around three weeks of work which means that once the authorities decide to lift the restrictions on access, the families and friends of the victims will be able to access the site." VARIOUS OF MEMORIAL SITE RELATIVE LAYING FLOWERS VARIOUS OF MOUNTAINS
- Embargoed: 13th April 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA1SZ00MYKTFJT4CL050JBPZYMM
- Story Text: Authorities began work on Sunday (March 29), to clear a road to the Germanwings crash site in the French Alps, as relatives of the victims continued to visit a homage site in the small village of Le Vernet.
Several families, made up of Colombian, Dutch, German and Spanish citizens arrived by bus, and where led to the memorial to lay flowers and mourn.
The local mayor, Francois Balique, along with his family and other residents, has been welcoming the hundreds of relatives and said he wanted to give them as much information about the place where their loved ones perished.
"My only worry today is that I am not in a position to welcome every family the same way I did for some. What they expect from me is to talk about that place, who lives here, how we live here, what kind of life there is on the site of the crash, what the site of the crash looks like at each season," Balique said.
He added that rescuers had started clearing a path through a forest leading to the crash site.
"As soon as the clearing of the track is done we will organise the tracks so that it is accessible by car, this will take around three weeks of work which means that once the authorities decide to lift the restrictions on access the families and friends of the victims will be able to access the site," said Balique.
The mayor was also preparing for the Easter holidays and anticipated that many families of the victims would travel to Le Vernet.
Germanwings said 72 Germans were killed in Tuesday's crash, the first major air passenger disaster on French soil since the 2000 Concorde accident just outside Paris.
Spanish officials said 51 Spaniards were among the victims.
The victims also included three Americans, a Moroccan and citizens of Britain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Iran and the Netherlands, officials said.
However DNA checks to identify the victims could take weeks, the French government said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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