Unidentified remains from the 150 victims of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps in March were buried quietly overnight ahead of a ceremony for families today.
"The burial took place overnight in the cemetery at Le Vernet, discreetly," said Bernard Bartolini, mayor of Prads-Haute-Bleone, one of the Alpine communities affected by the crash.
Up to 500 people were expected later Friday for a ceremony in honour of the victims -- which included 72 Germans and 50 Spaniards.
All 150 people on board died instantly when, according to investigators, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the flight into the mountains.
The mayor of the town of Le Vernet, where Friday's ceremony was due to take place, said the unidentified remains were buried in a collective grave.
"For the families of the victims, it's a second burial because they have already buried the remains of their loved ones that could be identified by DNA," Francois Balique told AFP.
He said there was "no other solution" than to bury the unidentified remains in a mass grave.
"It will be terrible for the families," he said.
The chief executive of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr, will not be attending Friday's ceremony amid a spat between the airline -- the parent company of Germanwings -- and families over compensation.
The relatives of the German citizens killed in the March 24 disaster have turned down Lufthansa's compensation offer and accused it of ignoring their suffering.
The parents of 16 student victims from the town of Haltern wrote an open letter to Spohr to voice "disappointment" at Lufthansa's conduct "since a pilot from your company killed our children".
