An Airbus A320 operated by Germanwings budget airline Lufthansa crashed in a remote area of snow in the French Alps on Tuesday and all 150 on board feared dead.
French President Francois Hollande, said he believed that none of the people aboard the A320 had survived, while Lufthansa chief spoke of a black day for the German airline.
Germanwings has completed his flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf crashed in the French Alps, with 144 passengers and six crew on board.
Hollande said: “The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think that there are no survivors.”
Officials said the plane issued a distress call at 0947 GMT, about 52 minutes after takeoff. The accident happened on a snowy alpine area that is difficult for the rescue services to arrive.
Hollande said it was unlikely that a significant number of Germans in flight. Deputy Prime Minister of Spain said 45 passengers were Spanish names.
It was the first crash of a large airliner on French soil since the Concorde disaster outside Paris in July 2000. The A320 is a workhorse aircraft fleets worldwide. Aircraft are used the world over passengers and have a good safety record, though not without blemish.
“Black day”
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr spoke of a “black day” for the airline.
“We do not know what happened to the flight 4U9525. My deepest condolences go to the families and friends of our passengers and crew,” Lufthansa said on Twitter, citing Spohr.
“If our fears are confirmed, this is a black day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors,” he said.
A spokesman for the aviation authority DGAC France said the plane crashed near the city of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of the city on the French Riviera in Nice.
Accident investigators from France and Germany were heading to the crash site in Meolans-Revel, a remote and sparsely populated in the foothills of the French Alps commune.
German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt would also travel to the crash site, said a ministry spokesman.
Airbus said it was aware of reports of the accident.
“We are aware of media reports,” Airbus said in Twitter. “All efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Barcelona Airport officials said the flight took off at 0855 GMT. The families of those on board the plane were meeting in a building specially prepared there.
