Alps plane crash: Husband 'devastated' by death of wife and son

Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio worked in film and video post-production

The husband of a Manchester-based filmmaker killed with her baby son in Tuesday's Alps air crash has spoken of his devastation at their deaths.

Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio, 37, who was Spanish, died with their seven month-old son Julian Pracz-Bandres in the Germanwings Airbus A320 disaster.

Pawel Pracz said the couple had been living in Manchester for seven years.

He said his wife had been travelling back from her uncle's funeral on the flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf.

"I'm with my closest family in Manchester, and in close contact with our family in Spain at this very difficult time," said Mr Pracz.

"Marina was visiting her family in Spain for her uncle's funeral. She bought the tickets at the last moment and decided to return to Manchester quickly as she wanted to return to her daily routine as soon as possible.

"We are devastated and would like to request that we be allowed to grieve in peace as a family without intrusion at this difficult time."

He said his wife was an editor and colourist and both worked in film and video post-production.

One of her friends, BBC cameraman Richard Goodaire, said he had seen her recently at his daughter's birthday party.

He described the disaster as bringing about the "devastating loss of such a beautiful young family".

"They'd seemed to have such a bright, positive future," he said. "Marina was a very talented, very hard-working, dedicated person."

Richard Hellawell, her former tutor at Futureworks School of Media in Manchester, described her as a "model student" who was "exceptionally talented and hard-working."

He said: "One of the nice bright lights of the world has gone out."

Mr Hellawell recalled a barbecue he held for his students at his house after their graduation, saying: "She had never been to my house, she had no idea about my family and she turned up with presents for my two little kids - that says everything about what she was like."

Ricky Wong, from Warrington, studied with Ms Bandres Lopez-Belio at Futureworks.

Ricky Wong remembered Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio as 'very creative'

He said: "She was very introvert and very shy but once you got to know her she was very creative.

"It is such a shame her future has been taken away from her."

As a student Ms Bandres Lopez-Belio worked at the Spanish restaurant El Rincon in Manchester.

Owner Rafael Cabrera said she was "very chatty, very lovely and a good person" and she had kept in touch with the staff, who were shocked to hear of her death.

"It's very sad and we feel very sorry for what's going on, especially with her close ones," he said.

One hundred and forty-four passengers, including 16 schoolchildren and two teachers, along with six crew perished on Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 after it went into an eight-minute descent before crashing near Digne in the French Alps.

Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio and her son were among 144 passengers killed in the crash