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Source: Reuters -
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The bodies of four of the five New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand Airbus crash off southern France have begun their journey home.
Families of the crew members flew to Perpignan to bring the
bodies home after they were officially identified last week.
The fifth body, that of engineer Murray White, is yet to be
found.
The journey home began after the victims' families paid their
final respects at the crash site off the coast of Canet.
It was another emotional roller coaster day for families of the Air
New Zealand crew members.
After an evening consoling each other in front of loved ones
coffins, they headed out to sea with the French Coast Guard.
They were taken to the crash site, where 40 metres under water, the
plane has been smashed apart, the mystery why it crashed still
intact.
The families held a memorial service on the beach.
As sombre as the mood is amongst the grieving group, there is wide
spread agreement that making the journey is a form of
healing.
"There will be some closure and at least a sense of process and
moving onwards and we are transporting these men back to New
Zealand," says Malcolm Prebbles, victim's family spokesman.
Local officials say they will install a permanent memorial soon, so
no-one will ever forget the crash victims either.
Air New Zealand will bring the men home via Hong Kong. They are due
to arrive on Tuesday.
Last moments
Meanwhile, the chilling last moments of the Airbus have been
revealed in the first public report of information from the
aircraft's flight recorders.
French investigators say they show that the crew members were
having a lot of difficulty controlling the plane and in their last
seconds were screaming as they hit the water.
On Wednesday, an unmanned submarine will head out to the wreckage site as investigators look for ways of raising the plane from the sea bed because they think there could be some extra clues there as to why the plane crashed.
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