Around 150 people are feared dead after a plane crashed in the French Alps.
Flight 4U9525 disappeared from radar around 45 minutes after leaving Barcelona in Spain for Dusseldorf in Germany at 10am local time.
It is believed to have come down in the Digne area of southern France.
French President Francois Hollande confirmed the crash and said he expects there to be "no survivors".
Reports suggest there were 142 passengers and six crew on board.
The plane appears to have come down in a very remote area near a ski resport. See pics after d cut...
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| Remote: The plane is believed to have crashed near French town Digne les Bain |
Germanwings has scheduled a press conference for 3pm today.
The Spanish President Mariano Rajoy has just tweeted about the "tragedy".
"Dismayed by the air accident in the Alps. A tragedy. We're working with the French and German authorities on the investigation," he wrote.
Looks like plane came down not far from a ski piste. Helicopters appear to be the best/only transportation into the area.
The French President has just been speaking on television and he confirmed there are "no survivors" following the crash.
Francois Hollande confirmed a Germanwings plane had crashed near to Digne in the French Alps and expressed his "solidarity" with the victims.
It is understood the plane declared an emergency at 10.47am local time, descending from 380 to 5000 feet.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 65miles north of the French Riviera city of Nice.
The crashed A320 is 24 years old and has been with the parent Lufthansa group since 1991, according to online database airfleets.net
Flight 4U9525 left Barcelona at 8.35am local time and was due to land at 10.55am in Dusseldorf.
It's last known position was over southern France, the Alps, near Prads-Haute-Bléone between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonette.
Here's an image via the flight monitoring website Flight Radar.
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