BREAKING NEWS: Passenger plane carrying 148 people crashes in the French Alps en route from Spain to Germany
A plane carrying 142 passengers and six crew has crashed in the southern French Alps en route from Spain to Germany.
The Airbus A320 disappeared from radar in the Alpes de Hautes Provence after sending a distress signal at 10.47am local time (9.47am GMT).
Debris from the jet, operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline, has been found scatted over a wide area near Barcelonnette.
French president Francois Hollande said that he did not expect there to be any survivors.
He said: It's a loss, a tragedy which has happened on our soil.
'I am seeking information about homes in the area it came down. It's difficult place to access. In the meantime solidarity must prevail.'
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This Germanwings Airbus A320 carrying 142 passengers and six crew has crashed in the French Alps
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he understood between 142 and 150 people were on board and feared dead.
'The cause is at present unknown,' he told reporters.
A spokesman for the DGAC aviation authority said the airplane crashed near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of the French Riviera city of Nice.
German media reports say there is a wide field of debris visible.
According to flight data from FlightAware 24, at 09.30 UTC (10.30 GMT) the aircraft was cruising at 38,000 feet at 463 knots.
It started losing altitude to 37,975 by 10.31am with the speed reportedly increasing to 477kts. But 10.41am, the last reported radar returns had the aircraft descending at 6,800 feet at 378kts.
In ten minutes the aircraft plunged 31,200 feet in just ten minutes.
Lufthansa's Germanwings unit said it was as yet unable to verify reports of the crash.
The company tweeted: 'We have recently become aware of media reports speculating on an incident though we still do not have any own confirmed information.'
The crashed A320 is 24 years old and has been with the parent Lufthansa group since 1991, according to online database airfleets.net.
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