Seyne-les-Alpes: Helicopters have began airlifting the remains of the victims of a Germanwings plane crash from the disaster site in the French Alps, a source close to the investigation said.

Yesterday's operation to recover the remains of the 150 passengers and crew killed in the Airbus A320 crash was later called off for the night, the source told AFP. The mountain crash site, which is situated at about 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) altitude, is accessible only by helicopter or an arduous hike on foot.