Plane with 148 on Board Crashes in French Alps

PLANE DOWN. A file photo dated 16 October 2014 of a Germanwings Airbus A320 plane taking off from the Cologne/Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany

Image courtesy of www.rappler.com

Source: www.rappler.com

French President Francois Hollande says it is likely all passengers and crew on the Germanwings flight GWI18G, an Airbus A320 plane, perished in the crash

A German airliner crashed near a ski resort in the French Alps on Tuesday, March 24, with all 148 people on board feared dead, officials said.

French President Francois Hollande said it was likely all passengers and crew on the Airbus A320 had perished in the crash.

"There are not thought to be any survivors," the president told reporters after the disaster.

The plane was traveling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Dusseldorf when it went down in the Barcelonnette area, in southeastern France.

The plane issued a distress call at 10:47 am local time (0947 GMT), sources said.

The airliner was carrying 142 passengers and six crew members.

The plane belonged to Germanwings, a low-cost affiliate of German airline Lufthansa. The single-aisle A320 typically seats 150 to 180 people.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who said debris from the plane had already been found, was heading to the scene.

Shares in Airbus, the European aerospace giant, slumped on news of the accident, down 1.77% to 58.94 euros at 1100 GMT after briefly sliding two percent.