Germanwings crash: German grief echoed by new friends in Spain

"I’d been hoping to see her at school today. I still think she’s coming"

Students gather at a memorial in front of the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium school in Haltern am See (Getty Images)

Early on Tuesday morning a group of Spanish schoolchildren and their families from Llinars del Vallès gathered to wave a fond farewell to their new friends; German exchange students who had spent the previous week in the small Catalan town.

Yesterday morning they gathered again, but this time shaken and in tears, and mourning the deaths of their new friends and two of their teachers.

Sitting in the Pick Up café and watching rolling coverage of the crash scene in France on television, one of the Spanish students in the exchange programme, 16 year-old Meritxell Martinez, told The Independent that she had refused to go a remembrance service at the Institut Giola, the Spanish school in the exchange programme, saying it was just too sad.

As she spoke, she was also sending messages via Facebook to the 19 year-old brother of her exchange partner, one of German students killed on Tuesday. “She was an extrovert, always loud. I stayed with her family in February and she had spent the last week at my house. We had become good friends.

“It is so sad, and so confusing. I really hate the situation and don’t know what we’re going to do, the whole town is incredibly sad. We are supposed to be going back to school tomorrow [Thursday] but I don’t want to. Some of us are asking the teachers to give us more time; it’s too emotional at the moment.”

During the private 15 minute service at the Institut Giola for the 150 people killed in Tuesday’s Germanwings crash, students reportedly gave readings and sang a song that the German students had taught them. Afterwards, the host families to the German students left the school, many of them bitterly upset.

At noon, a minute’s silence was held for the victims of the crash in Llinars del Vallès, and across the rest of Spain. Shortly beforehand, the principal of the Institut spoke to the waiting media. Silvia Genis, read a brief statement calling for, “respect and privacy for students, families and teachers,” and said that essential support was being offered to the affected families.

Residents of Llinars del Vallès observe a minute of silence to honour the victims of the crash (Getty) (Getty Images)

She added that the school had contacted the mayor of Haltern-am-See, the hometown of the German students, and the director of the Joseph-König school, to express their sympathy and show their support.

A spokesman for Spanish Red Cross, Jordi Martori, told the local media that, “the task of psychologists in this case is to support families and provide any support they might need at all times,from scarves to mobile phone chargers,” if that was what they needed.

On a wet and miserable day in Llinars del Vallès, few people wanted to talk about the tragedy, but those that did said that it would take a long time for the town to recover.

“This is such a horrible event for the town – we cannot believe what has happened. I just cannot explain how I’m feeling,” said, Lola Gonzalez, a 21 year-old student. “I was part of the first exchange between the two schools in 2009 and I’m still in touch with my friend at the Joseph-König-Gymnasium. We’re feeling so numb. How could this have happened?”

Ms Gonzalez, who studies German at university in Barcelona and who still has siblings at the Institut, said that it would take a long time for the town to come to terms with the crash. She also relayed a story that one of the German students had forgotten their passport at the home of their host family, and that the family had rushed to El Prat airport early on Tuesday morning ensuring that the student managed to board on time and catch the fateful Germanwings flight.