Bad Weather Will Make Search Efforts Tough

Authorities resumed their investigation into the crash of Germanwings flight 4U 9525 at dawn Wednesday, but brewing weather conditions could prevent extensive operations. According to French news agency Agence France-Presse, more than 300 policemen and 380 firefighters have joined the search as recovery efforts of the Germanwings plane crash continue. Investigators will continue to recover victims' remains as they sort through debris to find clues as to what led to the airliner's crash.

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Marc Menichini told the AFP that 30 mountain rescue police would try and land at the crash scene by helicopter. An additional 65 police would attempt to reach the site on foot. Five investigators spent the night on location. Menichini said authorities would need "at least a week" to search the remote area and estimated "at least several days" to bring victims' bodies home.

Weather is expected to be a major deterrent to the second-day search mission. Though skies were partly sunny with light winds at the time of the plane's crash, recovery operations were called off late Tuesday as snow and gusty winds settled into the French Alps, according to AccuWeather. Deutsche Welle journalist Max Hoffman reports that unfavorable weather will most likely continue to stall the investigation.

The weather report is saying they are expecting snow in the early morning and that of course will keep the helicopters on the ground if it is too heavy. The place where the crash happened is about a two-hour hike on foot.