AS many as 148 people are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed in the French Alps.

French President Francois Hollande said it was unlikely there would be any survivors in the crash involving an Airbus A320 flying from Spain to Germany.

The plane was operated by low-cost carrier Germanwings, which is owned by German airline Lufthansa.

It is thought to have gone down near the town of Digne, having left Barcelona on a flight to Dusseldorf. There are believed to have been 142 passengers and six crew on board.

A French government spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that the accident took place. We do not know the exact number of people involved but hope to release more information at a later stage. We are trying to find out more information about what happened."

The Northern Echo:

Germanwings said: "We have recently become aware of media reports speculating on an incident, though we still do not have any own confirmed information.

"As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately."

In a statement on Twitter, Airbus said: "We are aware of the media reports. All efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We will provide further information as soon as available."

The Northern Echo:

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "My heart goes out to the family and friends of those people who appear to have lost their lives in this devastating air crash in the Alps."

President Hollande said: "An aeroplane of the Germanwings company has just crashed near to Digne.

"I want to express all my solidarity with the families of the victims. A counselling unit will be established to provide psychological support.

"I will discuss the incident with (Germany's) Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish King Philip VI, who is visiting us today. As we wait, our first feeling should be one of solidarity."

He added: "I will have meetings with Chancellor Merkel because there were a number of German victims, and I will also contact the King of Spain.

"This is an air tragedy and we will try to understand the reasons and causes of the accident, and obviously we will give the concerned authorities as well as the victims support.

"This is a mourning period, because this is a tragedy that has happened on our territory. I intend to find out if there were other consequences of the accident ... and we will find out more in the hours to come."

Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa which owns Germanwings, said in statement: "We do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525. My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew.

"If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors."

The aircraft, flown by Lufthansa's low-cost carrier Germanwings, went down near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of Nice, according to Reuters.

"Near the crash site, conditions were partly sunny with generally light winds at the time contact was lost with the plane," according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Eric Leister.

All onboard are believed to have been killed, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement.

Over the next 12 hours, weather will not be favorable for cleanup and rescue efforts.

France's Interior Ministry confirmed that debris from Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 has been found in the mountains 6,500 feet above the crash site, according to the Associated Press.

"The weather is going to be deteriorating near the crash site over the next 12 hours as a storm system moves into the region, producing rain and high-elevation snow," Leister said.

Winds are forecast to strengthen Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Additionally, the remoteness of the area and limited roadways may make it difficult for crews to access the site, Leister said.