URGENT: Germanwings airliner crashes in French Alps

PARIS. KAZINFORM - An Airbus A320 airliner has crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne, French aviation officials and police have said.

The jet belongs to the German airline Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, BBC reports. The plane had reportedly been en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and was carrying 142 passengers and six crew. French President Francois Hollande said: "The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think there are no survivors." Mr Hollande said the crash was a tragedy and called for solidarity with the victims, adding that the area of the crash was very difficult to access. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had sent Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to the scene and a ministerial crisis cell to co-ordinate the incident had been set up. Both Airbus and Germanwings have said they aware of the reports but cannot yet confirm them.