Tragedy!!!!plane carrying 144 passengers and six crew crashes in the French Alps en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf

GERMAN WING AIRBUS A320

All 144 passengers and six crew were today presumed dead after an Airbus A320 crashed in a remote region of the French Alps en route from Spain to Germany.

Flight 4U 9525 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 scattered over a wide area near Barcelonnette in an inhospitable region of the Alps.

Two babies were among 45 Spaniards feared dead, while 20 German students are also believed to have been killed.

Grieving families have been gathering at Dusseldorf airport in Germany, where the jet was due to land, to await news of the rescue and recovery operation. 

French president Francois Hollande said 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.' 

He said he believes most of the passengers were German, Spanish and Turkish. 

According to flight data from FlightAware 24, the aircraft was cruising at 38,000 feet at 532mph at 9.30am local time (10.30 GMT).

It started losing altitude to 37,975 by 10.31am with the speed reportedly increasing to 548mph.

But 10.41am, the last reported radar returns had the aircraft descending to 6,800 feet at 434mph. 

The aircraft took ten minutes to drop 31,200 feet, suggesting the pilots may have been battling to control or land the plane before it crashed.  

he cause of the crash was not immediately known, with weather conditions described as good in the region and the airliner flying at an altitude high above the Alps.  

A safety warning was issued last year when a sister plane of the one involved in today's disaster suddenly lost altitude.

The European Air Safety Agency (EASA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive after an Airbus A321 went into an uncontrollable dive north of Pamplona, Spain before pulling out.

According to the safety warning, the Lufthansa jet, with 109 passengers and crew aboard, was at 31,000 feet when it started to descend without any input from the pilot, at a rate of 4,000 feet per minute, before the flight crew managed to regain control at 28,000 feet.

According to the EASA, a safety system designed to protect the jet reacted to incorrect data due to a faulty sensor.  

The safety warning related to all Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 – including the Airbus A320 involved in today's disaster. 

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he understood between 142 and 150 people were on board the Germanwings A320 and feared dead. 

Alain Vidal, Secretary of State for Transport, Sea and Fisheries, was more final, insisting there were no survivors.

But Pierre-Henry Brandet, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told BFM TV said: 'As long as land resources have not arrived we cannot say for certain. 

'Helicopters and several hundred people are involved in the search and rescue.'  

Spanish vicepresident Soraya Saez de Sanataria said 45 people with Spanish surnames were travelling on the Airbus A320.

She later said two babies were among the dead.

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said in a hastily-arranged press conference he was cancelling his diary and heading back to Madrid to head a crisis cabinet.  

He described the accident as a 'dramatic and sad' piece of news but declined to talk about the victims.

He said: 'I profoundly regret this very sad accident. We are going to do all we can.'

He also confirmed he had spoken with German chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish King Felipe VI.

The monarch announced today shortly after arriving in France for a three-day official visit that he was cancelling the trip. 

The jet was travelling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Dusseldorf when it came down in the Le Massif des Trois Eveches 30km from the town of Barcelonnette.

Surrounded by mountains and with few clear trails to the snow-covered area, gaining access to the crash site is expected to take some time. 

German media reports say there is a wide field of debris visible.  

According to the mayor of Barcelonette, the distress signal was received at 10.47am local time.

The plane crashed into a small valley around 2,000m (6,500ft) metres above sea level. 

source: dailymail.co.uk