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Alps Crash Co-Pilot 'Treated For Eye Condition'

The co-pilot accused of deliberately flying a Germanwings plane into the French Alps apparently sought treatment for vision problems before the crash, according to reports.

Andreas Lubitz, 27, hid a sick note which declared him unfit to work on the day of the disaster before boarding the Barcelona to Dusseldorf flight and flying it into a mountain on Tuesday.

Officials told the New York Times he was suffering from problems with his eyes which could have jeopardised his ability to continue flying aircraft.

The Dusseldorf University Hospital said in a statement on Friday that Lubitz had been evaluated at its clinic in February and on 10 March. The hospital has an eye clinic, but it did not comment on why he was being treated citing patient privacy laws.

German police have found medicines for treating psychological conditions during searches at Lubitz's home in Dusseldorf, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

"The 27-year-old has been treated by several neurologists and psychiatrists," the newspaper said.

Earlier, a former girlfriend told how he suffered nightmares and once woke up screaming: "We're going down!"

Identified only as Mary W, the woman told Bild newspaper that he had told her last year: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it.

"I never knew what he meant, but now it makes sense.

"At night, he woke up and screamed 'we're going down!', because he had nightmares. He knew how to hide from other people what was really going on inside."

French prosecutors said on Saturday that Lubitz's mental health was a "serious lead" in the inquiry, but not the only one.

Police chief Jean-Pierre Michel, speaking to AFP news agency in Dusseldorf, said: "We have a certain number of elements which allow us to make progress on this lead, which is a serious lead but which can't be the only one."

He added that the investigation has not revealed a "particular element" in Lubitz's life which could explain his alleged actions.

German prosecutors revealed on Friday that several sick notes were found during searches of his home and that of his parents in Montabaur.

The prosecutors' office said: "Documents with medical contents were confiscated that point towards an existing illness and corresponding treatment by doctors.

"The fact there are sick notes saying he was unable to work, among other things, that were found torn up, which were recent and even from the day of the crime, support the assumption based on the preliminary examination that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional colleagues."

Germanwings confirmed the sick note for the day of the crash was not submitted to the company.

The father of a British man who died on the flight has said the co-pilot's motive for crashing the plane is "not relevant".

Philip Bramley, whose 27-year-old son Paul was among 150 people killed on the Airbus A320, said his focus was on seeing "this never happens again" .

Operations to recover the remains of those killed in the Col de Mariaud are expected to last for some time.

Rescue crews are having to be winched down the steep mountainside from helicopters.

Much of the wreckage is smaller than a car door, and because the crash site is steep crucial pieces of evidence are sliding down scree slopes.

Colonel Patrick Touron, one of France's leading forensic investigators, said: "We have not found a single body intact. DNA will be the determining element that will lead to identification."

Up to 600 "biological elements" have been recovered and are being cross-referenced to try and identify victims.