A Germanwings Airbus A320 has crashed in French Alps near Digne, with 148 people on board.
The Flight 4U 9525, which was travelling between Barcelona, Spain and Duesseldorf, Germany is carrying 148 passengers on board.
The low-cost Cologne-based Germanwings airline owned by giant German carrier Lufthansa, says it was aware of crash reports.
French President Francois Hollande said he believed none of those on board had survived and added that has spoken briefly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to express solidarity following the crash of the Germanwings plane.
Meanwhile, Spain’s King Felipe and his wife are in France on a scheduled visit and are meeting Mr Hollande.
The Germanwings has an excellent safety record with no previously reported accidents. The average age of its Airbus fleet is just over nine-years-old though flight 4U9525 was being flown by a 24-year-old A320.
France’s DGAC aviation authority confirmed the A320 crashed near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of Nice. The prime minister’s office said the crash happened in Meolans-Revel, a remote commune in the foothills of the French Alps.
