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Australian plane crash victims named

A family holiday has ended in tragedy for two Victorians, Carol Friday and her son Greig, who were on board the Germanwings Airbus A320 that went down over the French Alps on Tuesday.

The 68-year-old nurse and the 29-year-old engineer were on holiday in Europe and were passengers on the Airbus A320 plane which crashed, killing all 150 board.

The pair were spending time together for a few weeks before Greig would begin an extended European stay.

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He had just completed a course teaching English as a foreign language, which he was hoping to do in France in the coming year.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop named the pair before Question Time in Federal Parliament.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this unimaginably difficult time,” Ms Bishop said.

She said the family issued a statement through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ms Bishop read part of it to Parliament.

Greig Friday and mother carol were in the fatal Germanwings plane crash

Greig was a mechanical engineer who studied at Monash University. Photo: Facebook

“Our family is in deep disbelief and crippled with sadness and would like to ask for privacy,” the statement said.

“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.”

The statement from the Friday family continued that Carol, 68, was a loving mother of two, a devoted wife to her husband Dave and a sister to three brothers.

“Carol was a registered nurse, midwife and maternal and child health nurse, most recently working for the City of Casey,” there statement said.

“She was a talented artist and enjoyed spending time creating with her local art group. She loved to travel and has seen many of the world’s greatest sights.

“Carol loved life. She enjoyed every minute with her family and friends.”

Carol would have delivered many Victorian babies and cared for many mothers over her nursing career, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation says.

“Carol was … extraordinarily dedicated to nursing, midwifery and to maternal and child health, a vocation she carried throughout her life,” ANMF secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

Ms Bishop continued to read the statement, saying Greig, 29, was a loving son to Carol and Dave and an exceptional brother to his sister Alex. He was adored by all of his family and friends.

“Greig was a mechanical engineer who studied at Monash University and had since worked for Jacobs Engineering as an acoustic engineer,” the statement said.

“He also loved to travel and had just completed a course for teaching English as a foreign language, which he was hoping to do in France in the coming year.

“Greig was a man who loved others and life with a full heart.

“Again our family would like to ask for our privacy while we try and find peace with our loss.”

The Victorian Aids Council paid tribute to Grieg on Twitter, who had worked as a volunteer facilitator since 2007.

“We will miss Greig’s witty personality and his sense of humour,” Victorian Aids Council peer education co-ordinator Budi Sudarto said on Wednesday.

“Greig always put others first and this was evident in his ongoing dedication to both ‘The Young and Gay’ and the peer education program.

“We will remember Greig, and we want him to know that he left a positive mark on the world and put smiles on others’ faces as part of his legacy.”

More victims identified

Hundreds of emergency workers have resumed the search for bodies of passengers on flight 4U9525 in the French Alps.

The largest numbers of those among the 150 dead were 67 German and 45 Spanish nationals.

Colombian engineer Luis Eduardo Medrano, who died when a Germanwings jetliner crashed.

Colombian engineer Luis Eduardo Medrano, who died when a Germanwings jetliner crashed. Photo: AAP

The first of the Spanish victims were named by the media on Wednesday morning, with Barcelona’s opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, confirming that singers Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner, as well as her husband and baby, were among the dead.

Colombia’s foreign ministry named María del Pilar Tejada and Luis Eduardo Medrano as two of the dead and Kazakhstan confirmed that three of its citizens – Erbol and Adil Imankulov and Aizhan Isengaliyeva – were killed, The Guardian reports.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirms at least three Britons were among the 150 victims.

Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio, a 37-year-old Spanish woman living in England, was killed with her seven-month-old son Julian Pracz Bandres, a British national.

Another victim, Paul Andrew Bramley, 28, had just finished his first year studying hospitality and hotel management in the Swiss city of Lucerne.

martyr matthews dies in germanwings plane crash

Martyn Matthews, 50, from Wolverhampton, with his family. Photo: Twitter

Another of the Britons to lose their lives was senior quality manager Martyn Matthews, 50, from Wolverhampton. The Express & Star reports Martyn was only on the plane because he couldn’t get a direct flight back to the West Midlands.

The US State Department said that at least three Americans died in the crash. Family members confirmed Yvonne Selke and Emily Selke were on board the plane. The third American has not yet been identified.

Two Argentinians, three Mexicans, two Japanese, one Turkish national, one Belgian and one Dutch passenger have been confirmed as being among those killed in what Germanwings described as a “tragic accident”, The Guardian reports.

In Seyne-les-Alpes, the picturesque alpine mountain village of 1,500 people which had been transformed into a makeshift centre of operations, support staff were preparing to greet the first relatives of the victims.

germanwings plane crash

Location of Germanwings plane crash. Photo: ABC

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