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Mobile Phones Found In Plane Crash Debris

Investigators say they have found mobile phones amongst the debris of the German passenger jet that crashed in the French Alps.

So far the devices have not produced any clues as to what happened when the Germanwings A320 went down, killing all 150 people on board.

However, Lt. Col Jean-Marc Menichini said they had yet to be given a full examination. He declined to elaborate.

Earlier this week French magazine Paris-Match and German tabloid Bild said they had seen a video of the final moments of the flight recorded on a mobile phone.

Paris Match, which has not published the video, reported: "The sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them."

A lead investigator into the crash later called on anyone with footage of the disaster to hand it over to authorities.

Special mountain troops are continuing to search the area for personal belongings and the second black box flight recorder.

Investigators believe the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately steered the plane into the mountainside after locking the pilot out of the cockpit.

It has also emerged Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies before he got his pilot's licence and had torn up sick notes.

Germany is to set up a task force to examine safety issues such as the cockpit door mechanism and pilots' mental health.

It follows a meeting between Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt and the German Aviation Association, which represents airlines.

"We want to look at psychological criteria and procedures. We also want to look at the question - how do we recognise any indication of psychological issues," Mr Dobrindt said.

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Wednesday it will take a "long time" to fully establish what led to the crash.

"We are learning more every day about the causes of the accident," he said in a statement near the crash site.

But he added: "It will take a long, long time for all of us to understand how this could happen."

He refused to answer questions on what Lufthansa knew about Lubitz's mental health.

On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said all 150 victims will be identified by the end of the week.

This contradicted an earlier report in Bild that said relatives may have to wait much longer, with no guarantees their loved ones will be found.

The violence with which the Airbus smashed into the French Alps last week has severely hampered the DNA identification process.

Flight 4U 9525 was on its way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it came down. To date not a single body has been found intact.