(Bloomberg) — An Airbus A320 single-aisle aircraft crashed in southern France, with French President Francois Hollande saying there are unlikely to be any survivors.
The aircraft went down in the Digne region that is about an hour north of Marseille, according to local police. Wreckage has been sighted, French television reported, and the government has called a crisis meeting, with the prime minister headed to the site. The plane was carrying 148 people on board, Hollande said.
“This is a tragedy that has happened on French soil,” Hollande said in Paris. “We need to show all support in the face of this drama.”
The aircraft was operated by Germanwings, the low-cost subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, according to German air traffic control authorities, which identified the plane was Flight No. 9525 en route to Dusseldorf from Barcelona. The plane went down in rugged terrain, according to Hollande, who is coordinating a crisis response with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The A320 aircraft is Airbus’s most popular aircraft, and is an industry workhorse used on shorter distances. The planes are generally operated with about 150 passengers or slightly more in low-cost variants. Airbus said it was aware of the reports and hadn’t yet received official confirmation of an incident, according to spokesman Justin Dubon.
Germanwings said in a Twitter message that it’s become aware of press reports one of its planes may have been involved in the crash.
“As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately,” the airline said.
Airbus dropped as much as 3.1 percent in Paris trading, while Lufthansa fell as much as 3.9 percent in Frankfurt.
German Wings Airbus A320 #4U9525 lost from @Flightradar24 at 6800 ft at 09.39 UTC time UPDATES http://t.co/XTMaa9mAV2 pic.twitter.com/VwZmbhcUsn
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
#A320 CRASH: Airbus crashes in area of #​Digne, S. France – reports http://t.co/XTMaa9mAV2 pic.twitter.com/CgJH5KE29K
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
INFO: We have recently become aware of media reports speculating on an incident though we still do not have any own confirmed information… — Germanwings (@germanwings) March 24, 2015
… As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately …
— Germanwings (@germanwings) March 24, 2015