German Plane carrying 144 Passengers and Six Crew crashes in the French Alps Today

An Airbus A320 carrying 144 passengers and six crew were today crashed in a remote region of the French Alps en route from Spain to Germany.

Flight 4U9525 disappeared from radar in the Alpes de Hautes Provence after sending a distress signal at 10.47am local time (5.47am EST). Debris from the jet, operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline, has been found scattered over a wide area near Barcelonnette.

French president Francois Hollande said that he did not expect there to be any survivors. He said: 'It's a loss, a tragedy which has happened on our soil.' This afternoon distraught friends and relatives of the missing passengers and crew were gathering at Dusseldorf Airport to await news.