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2nd LD Writehru: Germanwings confirms A320 plane crash in southern France

Xinhua, March 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

German budget airline Germanwings confirmed on Tuesday that its flight 4U9525 had an accident over the French Alps with 150 people on board.

The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Barcelona in Spain to Duesseldorf in Germany when it crashed. There were 144 passengers and 6 crew members on board, said the company in a joint statement with its parent company Lufthansa.

"We must confirm to our deepest regret that Germanwings Flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf has suffered an accident over the French Alps," read the statement posted on their twitter accounts which were in black and white.

Germanwings and Lufthansa have set up a free hotline with number 0800-11335577 for families of passengers involved for care and assistance.

"Everyone at Germanwings and Lufthansa is deeply shocked and saddened by the event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew members," the companies said.

Earlier on Tuesday, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement that Chancellor Angela Angela Merkel was deeply shocked at the plane crash, and had already made phone calls with French President Francois Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The chancellor has canceled other appointments and would keep informed on the latest development in the coming hours, Seibert said.

German Ambassador in Paris was on the way to the crash site, according to the statement. German Foreign Ministry has also set up a crisis team to deal with the issue and opened a crisis hotline. German Transportation Ministry said Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has sent investigators to France.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed sympathy to the families of the passengers and said "our thoughts are with those fearing that their loved ones are among the victims".

Identities of the passengers have not been disclosed and the cause of the accident remained unclear.

Local media reported that the A320 aircraft flying flight 4U9525 was one of the oldest in Germanwings fleet, had served for over 24 years and had flied to Barcelona from Duesseldorf earlier on Tuesday before it flied back and suffered the accident. Endit