A German airliner crashed near a ski resort in the French Alps yesterday, killing all 150 people on board, in the worst plane disaster in mainland France in four decades.
French Junior Minister of Transport, Maritime Economy and Fishery Frederic Cuvillier said there were “no survivors” from the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320, a low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa, in a remote part of the Alps that is extremely difficult to access.
Civil aviation authorities said they lost contact with the plane, which was carrying 144 passengers and six crew, and declared it was in distress at 10:30am.
Photo: AFP
“The distress signal showed the plane was at 5,000 feet [1,524m] in an abnormal situation,” French Minister of State for Transport Alain Vidalies said.
Spanish King Felipe VI cut short his state visit to France on news of the tragedy, with a number of Spanish nationals believed to be among the dead, along with Germans and possibly Turks.
French President Francois Hollande said the plane crashed in an area very difficult to access and rescuers would not be able to reach the site for several hours.
“I want to express all our solidarity to the families affected by this tragedy,” Hollande told reporters.
The plane was traveling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Duesseldorf when it went down in the ski resort area of Barcelonnette.
A witness who was skiing near the crash site told a French television channel he “heard an enormous noise” at the time of the disaster.
A French police helicopter dispatched to the site of the crash reported spotting debris in a mountain range known as “Les Trois Eveches,” which reaches 1,400m in altitude.
The government said that “major rescue efforts” had been mobilized, but that accessing the remote region would present severe challenges.
“The zone is snow-bound and inaccessible to vehicles, but could be overflown by helicopters,” Vidalies said.
The plane belonged to Germanwings, a low-cost affiliate of German airline Lufthansa based in Cologne that until now had no record of fatal accidents.
France’s leading air traffic controller union SNCTA has called off a strike planned from today until Friday.
“We are suspending our planned strike as a result of the emotions created in the control rooms by the crash, particularly in Aix-en-Provence,” union spokesman Roger Rousseau said.
Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Twitter that the airline had no immediate details on the crash, describing it as a “dark day.”
“My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525,” Spohr said. “If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors.”
Hollande spoke briefly by telephone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and expressed solidarity with Germany.
French Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve immediately headed to the scene, while French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had called an inter-ministerial crisis cell.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS