LE VERNET, France — The "madness of one person" behind the Germanwings crash will haunt the Alps for "many generations," a local mayor told NBC News.
Mayor Bernard Bartolini said everyone in the French village of Prads-Haute-Bleon was "thunderstruck" by the nearby crash of Flight 4U9525 and revelations the plane’s co-pilot appears to have deliberately downed the Airbus A320.
"Everyone feels like it's a tragedy that has happened to a member of their family," he said. "The population is immensely shocked by the madness of one person. It proves that the madness of people has no limits."
Bartolini and several other local mayors have been meeting and speaking with the 150 victims' family members, many of whom have traveled to the crash site to pay tribute.
"There is some anger against the co-pilot from the bereaved," Bartolini said. "But anger is not the main emotion. They are simply in deep pain. "
The tragedy is now written in the history of the area and has scarred the locals, he added.
"Generations after us will have to confront this event," Bartolini said. "It's a history that will haunt us."
