Quiet German town mourns 18 young lives lost in Alps plane crash

Quiet German town mourns 18 young lives lost in Alps plane crash

• A woman lays a flower next toa sign saying “Why?” at a memorial of flowers and candles at the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium secondary school in Haltern am See, western Germany on March 25, 2015, from where some of the Germanwings plane crash victims came AgenciesAFP

The deaths of 16 teenage students and two young teachers in the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps left the lakeside town of Haltern am See in a state of shock on Wednesday, with the German nation sharing in their mourning and grief.

A tranquil and tidy town of 37,000 that until Tuesday seemed to be a haven from the world’s dangers, Haltern am See came to a halt after news that 14 girls, two boys and two teachers on a Spanish language exchange programme were not coming home.

“On Tuesday last week we sent off 16 happy, young people with two happy, young teachers on a journey,” said Ulrich Wessel, headmaster of the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school. “It was meant to be a journey full of joy, a school exchange that we’ve been doing for six years. It ended in tragedy,” added Wessel. “Our school will never be the same again.” French investigators searched for clues as to why the German Airbus flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf ploughed into an Alpine mountainside, killing all 150 on board.

The 16 German students, all about 15 years old, had started learning Spanish at the start of the school year and were picked from 40 applicants to attend the popular language exchange programme.

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/18XQxSo