The two Australians among the 150 people presumed dead after Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashed in the French Alps overnight have been named as Carol Friday and her son Greig, from Victoria.
Foreign minister Julie Bishop read out a statement on behalf of the family during question time in Parliament on Wednesday.
‘Our family is in deep disbelief and crippled with sadness and would like to ask for privacy. Carol was a loving mother of two,” Bishop read.
“She celebrated her 68th birthday on March 23. Greig was to turn 30 on 23 April. He was a loving son to Carol and Dave and an exceptional brother to his sister, Alex. He was adored by all his family and friends.
“Carol and Greig were enjoying a few weeks holiday together at the start of his European stay, where Greig was to teach English this year. They were both extraordinary and exceptional people who were loved by many, who they loved in return. They will forever be with us in our hearts, memories and dreams,” Bishop concluded.
Shadow foreign minister Tanya Plibersek paid her respects to the victims of the crash.
“We have all farewelled our family and friends on their way on holidays overseas, confident of their safe return. All of us and all Australians feel deep sympathy for the family of these two citizens who we are now mourning after such a senseless and tragic loss,” she told Parliament.
The foreign minister said earlier on Wednesday the Australian government was “seeking to identify if there were any other Australians, dual nationals or permanent residents on this flight.”
The Airbus A320 was flying between Barcelona and Düsseldorf when it went down about 1pm local time near the small town of Barcelonette, 100km north of Nice in France.
Bishop and Tony Abbott were expected to send their personal condolences to their French, Spanish and German counterparts once more details of the crash become clear.
“At this stage it appears Germany, France and Spain were the countries most affected,” Bishop said.
Several minors were believed to have been on the flight, including 16 German schoolchildren who were returning from an exchange program in Spain.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of all those killed but particularly with the loved ones of the two Australians who have lost their lives,” Abbott told reporters on Wednesday. “Our consular officials are doing what they can for the families.”
Australian consular officials will travel to the crash site to help at the incident coordination centre.
“French authorities have given permission for consular officials to travel to a town called Gap where they will liaise with French authorities on the location of the recovery effort, including where the remains will be identified, and we will be setting up a mobile office in that location” the foreign minister said.
“Early this morning, I spoke to the Australian ambassador in France, Stephen Brady. He is still establishing with the French authorities the process of the removal of bodies. There are legalities involved,” Bishop said.
Germanwings is a subsidiary of German carrier Lufthansa, which has an impeccable safety record. The reasons for the crash are still unknown.
Aviation expert Desmond Ross told ABC TV on Wednesday: “Lufthansa and all of its activities have been absolutely top class.”
“They are one of the world’s leading airlines. They don’t cut corners on maintenance, they don’t cut corners on pilot training or engineering training.”
“One would expect that Germanwings as their subsidiary would be operating to the high standards that they would. So I initially can’t start to assume any issues with their maintenance procedures. I would suspect that they were all absolutely top line,” Ross said.
“The aircraft is an old aircraft, 24, 25 years old we’re being told. Some countries now do not permit aircraft of more than 20 years to be used in passenger service but that rule has not been introduced in Germany or France at this point in time.”