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Germanwings Airbus A320 Crashes in French Alps with 150 Passengers On board -No Survivors

(Update March 24, 9PM) - Over 150 people believed to be dead after a  German airliner crashed near a ski resort in the French Alps on Tuesday.

French President Francois Hollande said he believed none of those on board the A320 had survived, while the head of Lufthansa spoke of a dark day for the German airline.

Germanwings confirmed its flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf crashed in the French Alps with 144 passengers and six crew members on board, said Reuters report.


Offcials said that the Airbus  A320 operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings issued a distress call at 10:47 where the plane showed at 5,000 feet in abnormal situation.

Shortly thereafter, air traffic controllers sent out an alert, as the plane descended rapidly from a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet while flying over the town of Barcelonnette in the Alpes de Haute-Provence region, French aviation authorities said.

"It's an area that is snowbound, inaccessible to (ground) vehicles, but which could be overflown by helicopters," he said. The minister was to head to the crash zone with other government officials.
Flight #4U9525 initially climbed to 38,000 feet before before it started to descend and lost signal at 6,800 feet.

Flight Track
The crashed A320  is France's most deadly since December 1, 1981, when a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-81 crashed in Corsica, killing 180 people. It was a chartered flight travelling from Brnik airport in Slovenia to Ajaccio in Corsica.
French firefighters prepare to take-off in Digne-les-Bains for the crash site of an Airbus A320 in the French Alps. Photograph: JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER/REUTERS
Though no unblemish safety records the  crashed A320  aircraft is already 24-years old in service and  known as first-tier-airline. Since entering into service in 1988, the A320 has been involved in 12 fatal airline accidents, according to Ascend report.

Source : Reuters / GMA News