Speculation and rumours are rife in the wake of the Germanwings tragedy – including that suspected killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had a detached retina and that his girlfriend is pregnant with his child.

Forensic teams at the site of the French Alps crash are also believed to have recovered the body of Lubitz, the Independent reports.

• Tougher cockpit laws for Australian planes
• Airlines respond to Alps disaster
• Who was Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz?
• Flight risk: How to cope with a fear of flying

Investigators say tests on Lubitz’s body could provide crucial clues to explain why the 27-year-old might have locked himself in the cockpit of Flight 9525 and set the plane’s autopilot to crash into the side of a mountain.

According to German media reports, the locked-out captain of the Germanwings Airbus screamed “open the damn door!” to his colleague before the jet crashed on March 24, killing all 150 on board.

A Reuters report suggests Lubitz might have been suffering from a detached retina and had a history of depression.

A detached retina would have caused serious vision issues for Lubitz, rendering him unfit to fly.

German newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted a senior investigator as saying he “was treated by several neurologists and psychiatrists” and that a number of medications had been found in his apartment.

Lufthansa, the parent company of the budget airline, said the carrier was unaware of a psychosomatic or any other illness affecting Lubitz.

In further developments, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that Lubitz’s girlfriend, a teacher at a high school in a small town near Duesseldorf, had recently told her students she was expecting a baby.

Kathrin Goldbach, who is in her 20s, left Germany in the aftermath of the crash thinking her fiancé was one of the victims, The Mirror reported.

Forensic teams have announced they have isolated almost 80 distinct DNA strands from body parts at the crash site, as recovery personnel continue their grim task following last week’s tragedy.

Prosecutor Brice Robin, one of the lead investigators, said an access road was being built to the site to allow all-terrain vehicles to remove some of the larger parts of the plane and help transport bodies.

Most body parts were being winched up to helicopters and transported to a lab in the nearby town of Seynes, where a 50-strong team of forensic doctors, dentists and police identification specialists is working.

Between 400 and 600 body parts were being examined, Mr Touron said.

— with AAP