{An Airbus plane flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf has crashed in southern France in a rugged mountain region. French President François Hollande said he did not expect survivors among the 148 people on board the flight operated by Germanwings, the budget airline run by Lufthansa.}
Le Monde reported that 142 passengers were aboard the A320, along with six crew members. That report cites a local paper’s information from aviation officials.
Flight tracking sites show Germanwings Flight 9525 (4U 9525) in a rapid descent.
According to Hollande, most of the passengers are believed to be German. He added that there were no expected survivors even as France’s interior minister and other members of his government headed to the crash site in the foothills of the Alps.
Hollande, who was hosting Spanish King Felipe and his wife on Tuesday, called the crash a “tragic loss,” adding that he wished to “express my solidarity with the families of the plane crash victims.”
The plane reportedly went down in an area of relatively low peaks, but set in remote terrain with few roads that could complicate efforts to reach the crash site. Hollande confirmed that the crash site is difficult to access.
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told the Associated Press that crash debris was spread across an area at about 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) altitude. The aircraft sent a distress signal at 10:45 a.m. local time, he added.
“If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors,” reads a tweeted statement from Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr.
{{Source: Washington Post}}
Leave a Reply