PARIS (AP) – Families of victims of the Germanwings plane crash are meeting with investigators in Paris Thursday, amid lingering questions about why the co-pilot intentionally destroyed the Airbus A320 and how relatives may be compensated for their loss.
The meeting, which is to also focus on the long-stalled return of the victims’ belongings, comes in the same week that the first remains were returned to families after the March 24 crash. All 150 people on board were killed.
The families were holding their own meeting at a Paris hotel before heading off to see Marseille Prosecutor Brice Robin, who is leading a French investigation into the crash, and other French officials.
German lawyer Peter Kortas, whose firm represents the relatives of 34 victims, said negotiations with Germanwings began several days ago over compensation. Families were also looking for answers about delays in returning the victims’ remains.
“In this moment everything else is not as important as the fact that the bodies, (the) remains be returned to their families,” he said. “It’s already more than two and a half months since the crash happened, so it’s finally necessary to get to closure.”