Prosecutor denies reports of cell phone video related to Germanwings crash
02 Apr 2015
According to reports, the French prosecutor heading an investigation into the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 said on Wednesday he was not aware of any video footage from on board the plane.
According to Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin who spoke to CNN, "so far no videos were used in the crash investigation."
He added, "A person who has such a video needs to immediately give it to the investigators."
Robin was referring to a video, purportedly of the final moments of the ill-fated Germanwings flight that crashed in France last week, that had been claimed to have been discovered, according to reports on Wednesday. The development comes barely hours ahead of executives visiting the crash site ducking questions about the mental health of the pilot.
The video was claimed to have been captured by a passenger aboard the aircraft. According to investigators, German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew into a mountain in the French Alps.
The very wobbly video had purportedly captured chaotic scenes, according to German newspaper Bild. The report said screams and shouts of "My God" could be heard, indicating the passengers were aware of what was happening.
The video, which Bild described as being "indisputably authentic", had recorded the sound of banging of metal which was heard at least three times. According to commentators this was possibly the sound of the pilot, who had been locked out of the cockpit by Lubitz, trying to break through the door.
There was a heavy shake near the end of the video as the cabin tilted sharply to one side. The paper said, following more screams, the video ended.
Though the two publications described the supposed video, it was not posted on their websites. According to the publications, they had watched the video, which was found by a source close to the investigation.
According to Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Bild online, it was a very disturbing scene.
According to lieutenant colonel Jean-Marc Menichini, a French Gendarmerie spokesman in charge of communications on rescue efforts related to the Germanwings crash site, who spoke to CNN, the reports were "completely wrong" and "unwarranted."
