A Germanwings flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in southern France this morning near the village of Digne, where debris has already been found.
The cause of the crash is unknown. Original reports stated that 142 people were on board; NBC News said it has been told by German authorities that 154 passengers and crew were on the Airbus A320.
Germanwings, a popular low-budget European carrier, is a subsidiary of Lufthansa Airlines.
Germanwings sent out this tweet earlier today:
However, French authorities have confirmed the tragedy. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters: "We obviously fear that the 142 to 150 passengers and crew died today, given the conditions of this crash."
The French President, Francois Hollande, also said "The accident happened in a zone that is particularly hard to access."
Pilots of the flight apparently made a distress call at 10.47 a.m. French time, and the plane then disappeared from radar 33 minutes later.
This is the second Airbus A320 to go down in the last four months. An Airasia flight from Indonesia to Singapore crashed in December, killing all 162 on board.
We will update this story throughout the day.
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