GREENWINGS PLANE CRASH UPDATE: Agencies Commence Search and Rescue Operations

Search and Rescue operation for the crashed Germanwings airline has resumed today with a team of police officers spending the night on the mountain, securing the site.

BBC reports that officials have warned the operation could last for days in a remote mountain ravine between Digne andBarcelonnette.

Yesterday, the plane's damaged cockpit voice recorder was recovered by a helicopter team. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said although it was damaged, it could still provide information.

A key aim of today's search operation would be finding the second "black box" which is the flight data recorder.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Germany, France and Spain are due to visit the crash site while the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has already declared three days of national mourning in Spain.

The Germanwings plane had been flying from Barcelona toDusseldorf when it went down Barcelonnette and Digne, in the French Alps after an 8-minute rapid descent.

144 passengers were believed to be on board the flight including16 German students returning from a school exchange trip and opera singers, Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner

It is believed no one survived the crash.

The flight was also believed to have been carrying citizens ofAustralia, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands possibly UK andBelgium.

Germanwings, a low-cost airline owned by Germany's main carrier Lufthansa, had an excellent safety record prior to the unfortunate crash.