couple gets married naked

The Joseph König secondary
school is in Haltern am See, north
of Dusseldorf.
Returning from a week-long
exchange trip, 16 Joseph König
teenagers and two teachers
were on the Germanwings flight
which never arrived from
Barcelona.
The school has been surrounded
by police urging media to respect
students’ general reluctance to
speak out on camera.
The loss to the city of some
38,000 people drew reactions of
disbelief as well as despair.
We spoke to people in the centre
of town.
One man said: “I met somebody
today who said he had a
business meeting today and said,
‘I can’t cancel that, I have to
attend, because life goes on.’ And
that’s exactly what we need to
do! It is very sad, but what can
you do?”
A woman told us: “My three
brothers all go to that school. I
had to call them three or four
times, to make sure they were
home — it’s unbelievable!
Everybody always says flying is
the safest form of transport, and
then something like this
happens! It’s just unbelievable.
My brothers look totally down.”
A couple said: “There just aren’t
the words to say how everyone
is concerned, it’s just
unthinkable.”
A younger woman said:
“Everybody knows everybody
here, and even if you didn’t know
the victims personally, you’ve
seen them sometimes at school. I
imagine it’s unbelievably difficult
for the relatives, but I’m happy
the town is sticking together.”
Flags are at half-mast and
churches have stayed open.
The students — in the 10th
grade — were aged 15 and 16.
They drew lots to see who could
go on the trip to Llinars del Valles
near Barcelona.
Media cited the Joseph König
principal as saying the tragedy
made people speechless. Classes
and exams have been cancelled.
Our correspondent Olaf Bruns
summed up: “There is an
impressive silence here at the
school, a need to reflect, gather
together and mourn. Younger
pupils, too, are standing in silent
tribute at the school, where
candles have been placed. One of
them who didn’t want to appear
on camera told me he can’t cry
because he still can’t believe
what happened.”