Story highlights
Marseille prosecutor says the remains of all those on board Germanwings Flight 9525 have been identified
The plane's co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, is accused of having purposely slammed into the French Alps
The remains of all those killed when a Germanwings jetliner slammed into the French Alps have now been identified and can be sent home soon, Marseille Prosecutor Brice Robin confirmed Tuesday.
Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is accused of having deliberately put Germanwings Flight 9525 into a fatal descent on March 24, killing all 150 people on board.
Recovery workers tasked with gathering the human remains and fragments of plane debris scattered across a steep mountainside faced a challenging task in treacherous conditions. Forensics workers used DNA testing to aid the identification process.
News that the remains of the 144 passengers and six crew on board could soon be returned home may come as a relief to their families and friends.
In the days after the tragedy, many traveled to the village of Le Vernet, the nearest accessible point to the crash site in the southern French Alps, to mourn their lost loved ones.
The Airbus A320 was returning to Dusseldorf, Germany, from Barcelona, Spain, when Lubitz apparently took advantage of the captain having left the cockpit to fly the plane into the mountainside.
