Germanwings Airbus A 320 Crash in French Alps Kills 150 Onboard

It was the darkest day in its history for Haltern am See in Northwest Germany as lives of 16 teenagers from the town aboard the Germanwings 4U 9525 was horrifically cut short Tuesday morning.

The teenagers had gone to Spain on an exchange programme along with a teacher and were returning home on Tuesday. The Airbus A 320 had crashed 45 minutes after its take off. It is said to have rapidly descended from 38,000 ft, the plane's cruising altitude. It lost contact with air control when the plane hit 6,000 ft before crashing into the French Alps in the commune of Prads-Haute-Bléone, killing all 150 people aboard. The plane was to land at Dusseldorf 45 minutes later.

Haltern's denizens turned out in large numbers to pay tributes to the victims at their school, Joseph-Konig High. Churches opened doors for mourners while psychological and pastoral services were extended to those in grief.

There were 67 Germans, 45 Spaniards and one Belgian on the plane. The nationality of remaining passengers is yet to be confirmed by the airline.

The extraction of bodies is unlikely to begin until Wednesday. Rescue personnel camping in the village of Seyne-les-Alpes could not immediately begin operations due to difficult terrain and bad weather which was expected to worsen due to an approaching storm. A helicopter that flew over the crash site noted debris. Investigations are expected to begin soon as the plane's black box was found, The Guardian reports.

The Airbus A 320 is often termed the 'workhorse of aviation' with a near perfect record. The Germanwings flight was delivered to Lufthansa in 1991.