Germanwings Crash: Police Guard Victims' Bodies Overnight From Wolves

French authorities had to guard victims' bodies and the wreckage of Germanwings Flight 9525 overnight from looters, journalists and even wolves. Police have tightened the security perimeter at the scene in the French Alps over fears that the public, members of the press and wolf packs in the area will disturb the investigation, according to French weekly news magazine L’Express.

Five police officers spent the night protecting the rubble from two wolf packs known to reside in the remote mountainous region. Officials are still working to recover bodies and debris from the scene. All 150 passengers and crew members aboard the Germanwings Airbus perished in the crash Tuesday.

Poor weather conditions and rocky terrain have also hindered the recovery efforts at the crash site, which is at an altitude of 6,550 feet and inaccessible to vehicles. French Interior Ministry spokesman Paul-Henry Brandet said Wednesday there was rain and snow in the region overnight, which made the crash zone increasingly difficult and dangerous to reach, according to the Associated Press.

The Lufthansa-operated plane plunged into the side of the 9,000-plus-foot Estrop massif about 100 miles north of Nice on Tuesday. Video and images of the crash site overhead showed pieces of debris scattered over four acres of the mountainside and into a ravine. “The aircraft was pulverized,” a rescue worker told the Independent Tuesday night. “Even the bodies are unrecognizable.”

The crash site is a walk of two and a half hours from the nearest settlement, but members of the press and public have flocked to the area. Grieving families arrived in towns surrounding the French Alps on Wednesday. Locals have offered to host the families due to a shortage of hotels and rooms to rent, the AP reported.