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An Airbus A320 passenger jet flew into the side of a mountain in the French Alps after skimming the mountain tops in a steep descent that killed all 150 people on board.
All 144 passengers and six crew aboard the flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf – including a German schoolparty of 16 pupils and two teachers - are believed to have died when it crashed into the side of the 9,000 metre-high Estrop massif 100 miles north of Nice.
The regional newspaper La Provence quoted a local mountain guide as saying: “I took a dozen gendarmes up to the crash scene. From the Mariaud pass, I could see the wreckage. It was obvious to me that the plane had flown into the side of the mountain.”
The owner of a campground near the crash site, Pierre Polizzi, said he heard the plane making curious noises shortly before it crashed.
An helicopter of civil security services flies over the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps
(ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images)
"At 11.30, I heard a series of loud noises in the air. There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside, but I couldn't see any fighter planes," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane. There was another long noise after about 30 seconds."
Sébastien Giroud, the owner of a saw-works in Prads-Haute-Bléones, said that he had glimpsed the plane for two or three seconds as it struggled over the village. “It was very low, only 1,500 or 2,000 metres and it seemed to be falling. I said to myself: ‘that’s not going to make it over the mountains. I never heard a thing.”
Dominique, a shop-owner in the hamlet of La Javie, said that he and other villagers had seen the airliner flying unusually low but had not seen or heard the crash.
Eric Mauger, a goat farmer in Prads-Haute-Bléone, the nearest hamlet to the crash scene, said that the plane came down high on the mountains well-above the snow line.
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crashShow all 66 1 /66In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Flowers are left in front of the monument in homage to the victims of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in Le Vernet, southeastern France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Andreas Lubitz was deemed ‘unsuitable for flight duties’ for a period of time during his training with Lufthansa and was receiving regular treatment for depression, sources have claimed as investigators focus their inquiry on his personal life and background
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash People believed to be relatives of the deceased crew on Germanwings flight 4U9525 comfort each other at a reception centre in Le Vernet, France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Rescue workers gather with friends and relatives of those killed onboard Germanwings flight 4U9525 at a reception centre in Le Vernet, France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Flags representing some of the nationalities of the victims are seen as family members and relatives gather near the crash site of an Airbus A320 in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash German and Spain flags symbolizing some of the nationalities of the victims are seen as family members and relatives gather for a ceremony in Le Vernet near the crash site of an Airbus A320 in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Flags symbolizing some of the nationalities of the victims, are seen near the memorial stele in Le Vernet during a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of an Airbus A320 in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French gendarmes and investigators make their way through debris from wreckage on the mountainside at the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French gendarmes and investigators work amongst the debris of the Airbus A320 at the site of the crash, near Seyne-les-Alpes, French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French gendarmes and investigators make their way through the debris of the Airbus A320 at the site of the crash near Seyne-les-Alpes, French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Wreckage of the Airbus A320 is seen at the site of the crash, near Seyne-les-Alpes, French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A body of a victim is evacuated by a French Gendarmerie rescue helicopter from the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Rescue workers recover bodies of victims from the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French military personnel work amongst the debris of the Airbus A320 at the site of the crash, near Seyne-les-Alpes, French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A helicopter of the French Gendarmerie flies over the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps, above the town of Seyne-les-Alpes, southeastern France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Search and rescue workers make their way through debris at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps, above the town of Seyne-les-Alpes, southeastern France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Flowers and lit candles are placed on the ground in Cologne Bonn airport
Reuters
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Victims’ relatives join carers outside the school gym in Seyne
Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, left, and Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann arrive for a press conference near the Germanwings headquarters in Cologne, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot that crashed the Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps
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In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Buses loaded with relatives of victims are escorted after their arrival at Marseille airport, southern France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Family and relatives of the victims of the Germanwings plane crash in the Alps are taken on bus to the Prat airport from a hotel in Castelldefels in Barcelona, Spain, to take a Lufthansa flight to visit the crash site in Seyne les Alps in France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash An Airbus plane of German airline Lufthansa carrying onboard relatives of the Germanwings plane crash victims takes off from the Duesseldorf airport in Duesseldorf, western Germany, en route to Marseille
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A Germanwings employee places flowers in commemoration of the victims of the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps, at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Members of German Government Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, from right, hold a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps at the parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Realtives of passengers of the Germanwings airliner that crashed in the French Alps leave the Gran Hotel Rey Don Jaime towards Barcelona El Prat airport where a lufthansa plane will fly to Marseille, in Barcelona, Spain
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Olivier Cousin (R), director of the mountain rescue team, which is responsible for the safety of the emergency workers on site, gives an interview in Seyne Les Alpes, France
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Alpine climbers take off in a police helicopter in Seyne Les Alpes
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L), French President Francois Hollande (C) and Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pay respect to victims in front of the mountain in Seyne-les-Alpes, the day after the air crash of a Germanwings Airbus A320
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A member of the search and rescue personnel stands at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Search and rescue personnel at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps
Reuters
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A sealed container holds black box from the German Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget Airbus A320 crash
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash The voice data recorder of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash The voice data recorder of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings employees cry as they place flowers and lit candles outside the company headquarters in Cologne Bonn airport
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A student who knew some of the German students involved in a crashed plane, reacts during a minute of silence in front of the council building in Llinars del Valles, near Barcelona, Spain
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Photograph of victims, flowers and candles stand outside the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school where pupils had gathered to pay tribute to 16 students and two teachers from the school who were on Germanwings flight 4U9525 that crashed yesterday in southern France on March 25, 2015 in Haltern, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Pupils gather at the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school to pay tribute to 16 students and two teachers from the school who were on Germanwings flight 4U9525 that crashed yesterday in southern France in Haltern, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Students gather in front of the Josef-König secondary school in Haltern am See, western Germany, where some of the Germanwings plane crash victims studied
Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A Lufthansa employee signs in a condolence book in Frankfurt, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash The flags of (L-R) Aragon, Spain and the European Union are lowered to half-mast at the Regional Assembly of Aragon in Zaragoza, Spain, as a sign of respect for the victims of the German plane crash in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash The German and the European Union flags hang at half mast in memory of the victims of the plane crash in France in front of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French President François Hollande with Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia pay their respects to the victims of the German plane crash in the French Alps
Reuters
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Debris from the Germanwings Airbus A320 at the crash site in the French Alps above the southeastern town of Seyne
Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Search and rescue personnel at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps
Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Wreckage and debris lie on the mountain slopes after the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320 over the French Alps
EPA
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Staff members of Germanwings and Lufthansa hold a candlelight vigil outside their headquarters in Cologne
Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A photo provided by the French Gendarmerie shows the crash site in the French Alps
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A rescue helicopter from the French Gendarmerie flies over the French Alps, as day fades into night near to the crash site of the Airbus A320
Reuters
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A general view of the crash site of a Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps above Seyne-les-Alpes is pictured in this photo provided by the French Gendarmerie
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Family members of people involved in a crashed plane arrives at the Barcelona airport in Spain
AP/Emilio Morenatti
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Rescue helicopters from the French Gendarmerie and the Air Force are seen in front of the French Alps during a rescue operation near to the crash site
Reuters
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A helicopter of the French National Gendarmerie is seen in Seyne, south-eastern France, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French emergency services workers (back) and members of the French gendarmerie gather in Seyne, south-eastern France, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps
BORIS HORVAT/AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash An helicopter of civil security services is seen in Seyne, south-eastern France, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Relatives of passangers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps arrive escorted by police officer at Terminal 2 of Barcelona El Prat airport in Barcelona
David Ramos/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Relatives of passangers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps arrive at Terminal 2 of Barcelona El Prat airport in Barcelona, Spain
David Ramos/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Relatives of passengers killed in Germanwings plane crash arrive at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany
AP/Frank Augstein
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Police escort a family member of an aircrash victim at Barcelona's El Prat airport
LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash French firefighters prepare to take-off in Digne-les-Bains for the crash site of an Airbus A320, in the French Alps
REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A family member of a passenger killed in Germanwings plane crash reacts as he arrives at Barcelona's El Prat airport
REUTERS/Albert Gea
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash People arrive at a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on Germanwings flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf at Dusseldorf International Airport in Dusseldorf, Germany
Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash People waiting for flight 4U 9525 are lead away by airport staff at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A relative (C) of passangers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps arrives at the Terminal 2 of the Barcelona El Prat airport
David Ramos/Getty Images
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash A man who appears to have waited for the missing flight 4U 9525 reacts at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany
AP/Frank Augstein
In pictures: Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash epa04676936 A man looks at a monitor showing a map released on the webpage 'flightradar24 with the exact point where the radar signal of the crashed Airbus A320 aircraft operated by German budget airline 'Germanwings' went missing near Barcelonnette, in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in Madrid, Spain
EPA
“We are the nearest to the catastrophe and we saw and heard nothing,” he said. “As the crow flies it is not far, but we saw nothing, not even smoke.”
Relatives of passengers killed in Germanwings plane crash arrive at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany
(AP/Frank Augstein)
Bruno Lambert, a mountain guide in the same village, said: “The plane came down in very steep mountain terrain, which is plagued by avalanches at this time of year. There was an avalanche just ten minutes ago.”
A woman living in Verlet three kilometres from the crash said: “I heard a dull noise, like an avalanche starting or like the explosions they use to force avalanches. Then several fighter planes flew over the village, probably looking for the wreckage.”
“Around mid-day I started to see smoke rising…Some village people climbed up to the Mariaud pass and they could see the wreckage from there.”
Flight 4U 9525 vanished from radar screens at about 10.47 am local time, 46 minutes after take-off from Barcelona. French officials said that debris had been found on the 2,961 metre-high Estrop massif near the small town of Barcelonette in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence.
French aviation officials denied earlier reports that the stricken aircraft had sent out a “mayday” signal. They said that it was French air traffic control which issued the distress signal when the plane disappeared from radar screens.
The French Prime Minister Maunel Valls, addressing parliament this afternoon, said: “no explanation for the crash can be excluded”.
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