At least three Britons are among the 150 people who died in the French Alps plane crash, the UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has said.
Paul Bramley, 28, a student from Hull, and Martyn Matthews, 50, the father of two grownup children from Wolverhampton, have both been named by the Foreign Office as victims.
The family of UK resident Marina Bandrés López-Belio and her seven-month-old baby Julian, a British national, have also confirmed they were on the Germanwings Airbus A320 flight.
López-Belio, who lived in Manchester, had bought a last minute ticket to visit her family in Spain for her uncle’s funeral, her husband, Pawel Pracz, said in a statement.
“My wife Marina Bandrés López-Belio and our son Julian Pracz-Bandrés were on board the plane that crashed in the Alps yesterday. We have been living in Manchester for seven years. Marina was an editor and colourist, and we were both working in post-production for film and video.
“Marina was visiting her family in Spain for her uncle’s funeral. She bought the tickets at the last moment, and decided to return to Manchester quickly as she wanted to return to her daily routine as soon as possible.
“I’m with my closest family in Manchester, and in close contact with our family in Spain at this very difficult time. We are devastated and would like to request that we be allowed to grieve in peace as a family without intrusion at this difficult time.”
It is understood that López-Belio and Pracz, who is from Poland, met while they were studying at Manchester’s Futureworks film school, where they graduated in 2009.
Richard Hellawell, her former tutor at the school, described her as an “exceptional student”. “She was the type of person that made the world a brighter place and she will be truly missed.”
Danielle Hewitt, 23, who studied the same course as the couple, said: “They were a lovely couple. They were just really nice, friendly people.
“They were met while they were there and they just seemed to click. They were always together and never on their own. It’s such a shame. They were just genuine, lovely people.”
Paul Bramley’s father said their family was deeply shocked. Bramley had just finished his first year studying hospitality and hotel management at César Ritz college in Lucerne, Switzerland.
He had taken a few days’ holiday with friends in Barcelona and was flying back to the UK via Düsseldorf to start an internship on 1 April.
Bramley’s mother Carol, who lives in Majorca, said: “Paul was a kind, caring and loving son. He was the best son, he was my world.”
Martyn Matthews, a businessman from Wolverhampton, was thought to have been travelling to Germany for a business meeting. He worked for the automotive manufacturer Huf in Tipton, which also has a factory in Düsseldorf.
In a statement issued through the Foreign Office, his wife, Sharon, and children, Jade and Nathan, said: “We are devastated at the news of this tragic incident and request that we are allowed to deal with this terrible news without intrusion at this difficult time.”
Families of those from the UK known to have been killed have been contacted, according to the foreign secretary. He added, however, that there may yet be more British victims of the crash. “We currently believe that three British people have been killed in this tragedy, but we cannot rule out the possibility that there are further British people involved.”
The majority of the 150 dead were German and Spanish nationals. The first victims were named by the media on Wednesday.
Germanwings’ chief executive, Thomas Winkelmann, said earlier on Wednesday that 72 German nationals, 49 Spanish citizens and two US citizens had died in the crash.
Victims were also confirmed from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Iran, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Venezuela.
Winkelmann added that “some of the victims’ nationalities have not been verified partially because of dual-nationality”.
