Fears grow for 150 people as plane crashes in France

Nearly 150 people are feared dead after the Airbus A320 plane flown by low-budget airline Germanwings which they were onboard crashed in southern France.

The aircraft, believed to be carrying 142 passengers and six crew, disappeared from radar screens at about 11:00 local time on Tuesday as it headed from the Spanish city of Barcelona to Düsseldorf in Germany, according to officials from the French Civil Aviation Authority  DGAC and local gendarmerie.

French President Francois Hollande said: "The conditions of the accident suggest that there are no survivors."

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve is heading to the site of the accident in the town of Barcelonnette in the French Alps, while Hollande said he would discuss the incident with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germanwings said it became aware of the accident through media reports but it did "not have any confirmed information".

"As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately," the carrier tweeted.

Germanwings' parent company Lufthansa and Airbus were not immediately available for comment.

Anadolu Agency