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Madrid: Relatives and friends mourned the victims of Wednesday’s horrific Spanair crash on Thursday, as the world reacts to what is the worst crash to hit Spain in 25 years.
At least 153 passengers onboard the Spanair flight were killed when the plane crashed soon after taking off from Madrid’s Barajas airport on Wednesday afternoon.
The death toll is expected to rise as many of the 19 survivors are in critical condition.
The realities of the crash began to sink in as survivors, and victim’s families crowded the airport for news of their loved ones.
Two of the survivors, a young boy and his sister desperately asked for their parents after being rescued from the devastating crash, the BBC reported.
Reports suggest more than 20 of the passengers were children, including two babies.
Ambulances and hearses dotted the airport, as officials rolled out a long convoy of coffins into a makeshift morgue at the scene of the disaster.
After being informed of Wednesday's crash, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero broke off his vacation in southern Spain and rushed back to Madrid, heading straight for the airport. He expressed condolences to people who lost loved ones "in this tragedy that struck us today." Later he went to the morgue to comfort mourners.
In an expression of mourning, a soccer match in Copenhagen between the national teams of Denmark and Spain started with a minute of silence and players on both teams wore black armbands.
Spain announced its national flag at the Beijing Olympic village will stand at half-mast to mourn the victims.
World leaders have sent their condolences to the victim’s families and offered their sympathy to Spain.
The presidents of Russia, Italy and France sent messages to Spain, as did the British Queen.
Germany expressed its shock over the extent of the devastation. Latin American leaders also regretted the accident, pledging their solidarity at this difficult time.
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