Manchester: From plane crash survivor Harry Gregg to manager Alex Ferguson, Manchester United past and present mourned and saluted the Busby Babes Wednesday.

Exactly 50 years after the tragedy at Munich airport, Ferguson and the current Red Devils stars joined the survivors and relatives of the 23 victims at a memorial service at Old Trafford.

At the same time, a group of Manchester United fans staged a ceremony at the Munich airport where the crash happened in a snowstorm on February 6, 1958.

At the disaster scene in Trudering, on the outskirts of Munich, hundreds of United fans gathered for a short religious service.

Speakers recalled the victims, Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Eddie Colman, David Pegg, Mark Jones, Liam “Billy” Whelan and Tommy Taylor, as well as 15 other officials, supporters and journalists.

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was among the speakers. Although Busby and four of the surviving players have since died, the remaining five of the “Busby Babes” were at the service — Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon and Kenny Morgans.

Of the current United lineup, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes sat alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has recently retired. Neville, the United captain, lit a candle to honour each of the 23 victims, and Ferguson, who led United to its 1999 Champions League triumph read a psalm. (AP)