Germanwings Air Crash: Three Britons Killed

Three Britons were among the 150 people killed in the French Alps plane crash, as search teams look for the second black box.

The first flight recorder, which records conversations and other sounds in the cockpit, was found on Tuesday and investigators were able to extract "usable data" despite it being damaged.

Now teams in the remote mountain area are searching for the Germanwings jet's second black box which keeps track of flight data. The case has been found but not its contents.

Investigators are hunting for clues as to what caused the Airbus A320 to come down without issuing a mayday message.

More than 300 police officers, 100 firefighters and 70 soldiers who specialise in Alpine mountain searches have been deployed at the crash site.

One of the British victims was 50-year-old Martyn Matthews, a senior quality manager from Wolverhampton.

The father-of-two grown-up children is thought to have been travelling to Germany for a business meeting.

His family have said they are "devastated at the news of this tragic incident".

Mr Matthews leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and children Jade, 20, and Nathan, 23.

Paul Andrew Bramley, 28, originally from Hull who was studying hospitality in Lucerne, was also a passenger on the fateful flight.

His mother Carol said: "Paul was a kind, caring and loving son. He was the best son, he was my world."

Seven-month-old baby Julian Pracz-Bandres from Manchester was also killed alongside his mother Marina Bandres Lopez Belio, 37, originally from Spain.

Her husband Pawel Pracz said his wife had been in Spain for a funeral and had only bought tickets "at the last moment".

Speaking at the last Prime Minister's Questions before the General Election, David Cameron offered his "deepest condolences" to the families of those who died in the disaster, and said the UK stood ready to offer any assistance it could.

He told the Commons: "It is heart-breaking to hear about the schoolchildren, the babies, the families whose lives have been brought to an end."

A spokesman for the French air investigation bureau, the BEA, said the recovered black box covered the entire flight.

But he would not say what conversations, if any, between the pilots had been captured on the recording, nor what language they had been conducted in.

One of the main lines of inquiry for investigators will be the aircraft's eight-minute long descent from 38,000ft to 6,800ft, despite being in a mountainous area and without putting out a distress call.

Although officials insist no cause has been ruled out, terrorism is not considered likely.

The plane was en route from Barcelona in Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, when it came down on Tuesday morning less than an hour into its flight at Meolans-Revels, between Barcelonnette and Digne.

The 144 passengers and six crew came from at least 13 different countries. They included 72 German nationals, 51 Spaniards, two Australians, three Americans and one Japanese.

Among those on board were 16 children and two teachers from the same school in Haltern Am See in Germany, returning home after an exchange visit.

The headteacher of Joseph Konig school, Ulrich Wessel, said he was "shell-shocked and speechless". He added: "Our school will never be the same again".

Flags were lowered to half mast across Germany, while silent vigils have been held in both Cologne and Barcelona to remember the dead.

Images of the area show the plane, operated by the Lufthansa-owned budget airline, had completely disintegrated with the fuselage smashed into small pieces, the largest of which is about the size of a small car.

French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made a joint visit to the remote village of Seyne-les-Alpes, where French investigators have set up their search headquarters.

The three leaders thanked search teams. Mrs Merkel said: "It's a real tragedy." She said her thoughts were with the victims' families.

Lufthansa said it would try to take families closer to the scene if they wished.

Germanwings said the plane had a normal service at Dusseldorf on Monday and its last major check-up was in the summer of 2013. Experts have said the A320 has a relatively good safety record.