Harrowing
mobile phone footage taken on board the doomed Germanwings flight has
recorded the devastating moment that screaming passengers knew they were
going to die, it has been claimed.
The
video, reportedly found amid the wreckage of last week's crash,
allegedly captures the sound of terrified passengers crying 'Oh God' as
the plane plunged into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. The
clip, said to be just a few seconds long, was reportedly taken from a
memory card which was found at the crash scene by a source close to the
investigation.
Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Marc Menichini, a high-ranking official
involved in the recovery operation, categorically denied that any mobile
phone footage had been found by investigators at the site.
But Paris Match said the footage, thought to have been filmed from the rear of the plane, was found "among the wreckage by a source close to the investigation".
Bild, which described the scene as "chaotic, totally blurred and completely shaky", also insisted that the accuracy of the video "is beyond question".
According to Paris Match, cries of "My God" can be heard in several languages, before three metallic bangs ring out. They added that the footage captures the plane shaking heavily, before the screaming "intensifies".
Bild added that the aircraft appears to be touching a mountain, as more screams are heard. The camera then cuts out.
Both papers say the footage supports the idea that the passengers "knew what desperate situation they were in". It added that no individuals could be identified.
Although the two publications described the video in detail, neither posted the footage.
Bild said it was just "a few seconds" and that it is not clear whether a passenger or crew member had filmed it.
But mobile phone tester Dirk Lorenz told Bild: "It's very unlikely a mobile phone could have survived such an impact.
"However, a memory card can be very durable. Even if a mobile phone smashes into a thousand pieces the memory card can remain intact. For example when the impact was somewhat cushioned."
But Paris Match said the footage, thought to have been filmed from the rear of the plane, was found "among the wreckage by a source close to the investigation".
Bild, which described the scene as "chaotic, totally blurred and completely shaky", also insisted that the accuracy of the video "is beyond question".
According to Paris Match, cries of "My God" can be heard in several languages, before three metallic bangs ring out. They added that the footage captures the plane shaking heavily, before the screaming "intensifies".
Bild added that the aircraft appears to be touching a mountain, as more screams are heard. The camera then cuts out.
Both papers say the footage supports the idea that the passengers "knew what desperate situation they were in". It added that no individuals could be identified.
Although the two publications described the video in detail, neither posted the footage.
Bild said it was just "a few seconds" and that it is not clear whether a passenger or crew member had filmed it.
But mobile phone tester Dirk Lorenz told Bild: "It's very unlikely a mobile phone could have survived such an impact.
"However, a memory card can be very durable. Even if a mobile phone smashes into a thousand pieces the memory card can remain intact. For example when the impact was somewhat cushioned."
According
to two European newspapers who claim to have seen the footage, cries of
'oh God' can be heard in several different languages as chaos breaks
out inside the cabin.
They
also describe the sound of metallic banging from inside the aircraft.
Both papers suggest the bangs could be the sound of the frantic captain
attempting to break open the cockpit door with an axe or metal object,
as Andreas Lubitz set the aircraft onto a collision course into the
mountain.
German
daily Bild and French magazine Paris Match said their reporters were
shown the video after it was found on a memory chip that could have come
from a mobile phone inside the aircraft.
It
comes as Paris Match also published a conversation between Lubitz and
the captain which was transcribed from one of aircraft's black boxes by a
special investigator, which suggested Lubitz had urged the captain to
leave him alone in the cockpit.
Lieutenant
Colonel Jean-Marc Menichini, a high ranking official involved in the
recovery operation, categorically denied that any mobile phone footage
had been found by investigators at the site.
But
Paris Match said the footage, thought to have been filmed from the rear
of the plane, was found 'among the wreckage by a source close to the
investigation'.
Bild, which
described the scene as 'chaotic, totally blurred and completely shaky',
also insisted that the accuracy of the video 'is beyond question'.
According to Paris Match,
cries of 'My God' can be heard in several languages, before three
metallic bangs ring out. They added that the footage captures the plane
shaking heavily, before the screaming 'intensifies'.
Bild added that the aircraft appears to be touching a mountain, as more screams are heard. The camera then cuts out.
Both
papers say the footage supports the idea that the passengers 'knew what
desperate situation they were in'. It added that no individuals could
be identified.
Although the two publications described the video in detail, neither posted the footage.
Bild said it was just 'a few seconds' and that it is not clear whether a passenger or crew member had filmed it.
