| 1 | A stele, a stone slab erected as a monument, set up in the area near where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 2 | Families of those killed in the Germanwings crash are in the Alpine village where the plane went down to commemorate the dead and bury unidentified remains. |
| 3 | Friday's ceremony in Le Vernet takes place exactly four months after the co-pilot is believed to have intentionally crashed the Airbus 320 into a nearby mountain, killing all 150 people on board. |
| 4 | The town sub-prefect, Patricia Willaert, estimates 300 family members are attending. |
| 5 | Most of the dead were German and Spanish. |
| 6 | (AP Photo/Claude Paris) Friday's ceremony in Le Vernet takes place exactly four months after the co-pilot is believed to have intentionally crashed the Airbus 320 into a nearby mountain, killing all 150 people on board. |
| 7 | Families of Germanwings victims release white balloons after an homage ceremony in front of a stele, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 8 | Families of Germanwings victims pay homage in front of a stele, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 9 | Relatives of Germanwings victims arrive at an homage ceremony, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 10 | A woman wipes her face as she attends a ceremony held for victims of the Germanwings crash, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 11 | A man pays homage at of Germanwings victims, after a ceremony in front of a stele which is surrounded by flowers, a stone slab erected as a monument, set up in the area near where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 12 | A candle burns near portraits of Germanwings victims, in front of a stele, a stone slab erected as a monument, set up in the area near where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 13 | A candle burns in front of a stele, a stone slab erected as a monument, set up in the area near where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 14 | Robert Oliver, father of a victim speaks with the media after an homage ceremony, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 15 | Families of Germanwings victims gather during an homage ceremony in front of a stele, an homage ceremony in front of a stele, in Le Vernet, French Alps, Friday, July 24, 2015. |
| 16 | The families of those killed in the Germanwings plane crash released white balloons into the air Friday, holding a ceremony in the French Alpine village exactly four months after the plane's co-pilot crashed the Airbus 320 into a nearby mountain. |
| 17 | The inter-religious service under a tent honored those whose bodies went unidentified. |
| 18 | Those remains were buried on Thursday night at the nearby Le Vernet cemetery, but families visited the grave at the close of the service as the balloons floated skyward. |
| 19 | French prosecutors say co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit on the March 24 flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, then set the aircraft on its doomed course. |
| 20 | All 150 people aboard the plane died, mostly German and Spanish. |
| 21 | Robert Tansill Oliver and Merivel Calvo, parents of 36-year old victim Robert Oliver Calvo, thanked the gendarmes who scoured the mountain for what they said ended up being 30,000 pieces of remains. |
| 22 | "It's a very difficult situation for the families to realize that all the remains could not be handed over but just some parts, that there is a grave here as well," said Christof Wellens, a lawyer for families of 34 Germanwings' victims. |
| 23 | The town sub-prefect, Patricia Willaert, estimated that 300 family members attended the service at the memorial stone laid near the mountain where their loved ones died. |
| 24 | Among those absent was Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, who decided not to attend "because of the tense atmosphere that has arisen in recent days" as a result of an open letter from some victims' relatives, company spokesman Helmut Tolksdorf said. |
| 25 | "He does not want to burden a dignified ceremony with this discussion," Tolksdorf added. |
| 26 | The company was represented at the ceremony by Germanwings chief Thomas Winkelmann and Lufthansa chief financial offer Simone Menne. |
| 27 | The parents of 16 German high school students killed in the crash released a scathing letter accusing the Lufthansa's chief of ignoring their needs and feelings and insulting them with his company's compensation offer. |
| 28 | Lufthansa has offered around 100,000 euros ($108,000) per family, depending upon its size. |
| 29 | Le Vernet's mayor, Francois Balique, says the crash site on the mountain should be open within two months as a memorial. |
| 30 | This story has been corrected to show that remains were buried Thursday night, not Friday. |