Germanwings Air Crash: Three Britons Killed

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At least three Britons were among the 150 people killed when a passenger jet crashed in the French Alps, the Prime Minister has confirmed.

One of the British victims is 50-year-old Martyn Matthews, a senior quality manager from Wolverhampton.

The father-of-two grown-up children is thought to have been travelling to Germany for a business meeting.

His family have said they are "devastated at the news of this tragic incident".

Paul Andrew Bramley, 28, originally from Hull who was studying hospitality in Lucerne, was also a passenger on the fateful flight.

His mother Carol said: "Paul was a kind, caring and loving son. He was the best son, he was my world."

Seven-month-old baby Julian Pracz-Bandres from Manchester was also killed alongside his mother Marina Bandres Lopez Belio, 37, originally from Spain.

Her husband Pawel Pracz said he was "devastated".

Mr Pracz said his wife had been in Spain for a funeral and had only bought tickets "at the last moment".

Speaking at the last Prime Minister's Questions before the General Election, David Cameron offered his "deepest condolences" to the families of those who died in the disaster, and said the UK stood ready to offer any assistance it could.

He told the Commons: "It is heart-breaking to hear about the schoolchildren, the babies, the families whose lives have been brought to an end.

"The Foreign Office is working urgently to establish whether any further British nationals were among those on board."

Mr Cameron was speaking as recovery teams resumed their search at the crash site in hazardous terrain.

Overnight rain and snow has made the rocky ravine slippery, increasing problems in reaching the area.

Investigators are also examining the black box cockpit voice recorder of the doomed Germanwings aircraft in the hunt for clues as to what caused the Airbus A320 to come down without issuing a mayday message.

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Gallery: Alps Plane Crash: The Victims

Maria Radner, Oleg Bryjak and Greig and Carol Friday

Martyn Matthews, of Wolverhampton, with his family

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Marina Bandres, who came from Jaca in the Spanish Pyrenees and lived in Manchester, was travelling on the plane with her baby

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Paul Andrew Bramley, 28, originally from Hull

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Eyal Baum, 39, was an Israeli citizen living in Barcelona with his wife. He was among 150 people killed when a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps

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The French authorities said although the black box had been damaged, it was "useable". Recordings from it have now been extracted.

A spokesman for the French air investigation bureau, the BEA, said the black box covered the entire flight.

But he would not say what conversations, if any, between the pilots had been captured on the recording, nor what language they had been conducted in.

The case of the second black box which records technical flight data has been found but without its contents.

Although officials insist no cause has been ruled out, terrorism is not considered likely.

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The plane was en route from Barcelona in Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, when it came down on Tuesday morning less than an hour into its flight at Meolans-Revels, between Barcelonnette and Digne.

None of the 144 passengers and six crew survived the crash.

One of the main lines of inquiry for investigators will be the aircraft's eight-minute long descent from 38,000ft to 6,800ft, despite being in a mountainous area and without putting out a distress call.

Images of the area show the plane, operated by the Lufthansa-owned budget airline, had completely disintegrated with the fuselage smashed into small pieces, the largest of which is about the size of a small car.

German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was flown over the site and called it "a picture of horror".

At a news conference, Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said those killed came from at least 13 different countries.

As well as the three Britons they included 72 German nationals, 51 Spaniards, two Australians, two Americans and one Japanese.

Among those on board were 16 children and two teachers from the same school in Haltern Am See in Germany, returning home after an exchange visit.

The headteacher of Joseph Konig school, Ulrich Wessel, said he was "shell-shocked and speechless".

"Our school will never be the same again," he said.

Flags were lowered to half mast across Germany, while silent vigils have been held in both Cologne and Barcelona to remember the dead.

French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spain's Mariano Rajoy have made a joint visit to the remote village of Seyne-les-Alpes, where French investigators have set up their search headquarters.

The three leaders thanked search teams and were due to meet families of victims.

Mrs Merkel said: "It's a real tragedy."

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Gallery: Rescue Teams Resume Search After Plane Crash

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (3R) arrives near the crash site of Germanwings Airbus A320 near Seyne-les-Alpes, France

Gendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams fly in a helicopter near the site of the Germanwings plane crash near the French Alps

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She said her thoughts are with the victims' families.

Germanwings said the plane had a normal service at Dusseldorf on Monday and its last major check-up was in the summer of 2013. Experts have said the A320 has a relatively good safety record.

The operator had to cancel a number of flights following the crash with some crews saying they were unable to fly after losing their colleagues.

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