150 die in French Alps air crash

Seyne-Les-Alpes

AN Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed in a remote snowy area of the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all 150 on board including 16 schoolchildren.

Germanwings confirmed its flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf crashed with 144 passengers and six crew on board. The airline believed there were 67 Germans on the flight. Spain's deputy prime minister said 45 passengers had Spanish names. Among the victims were 16 children and two teachers from the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school in the town of Haltern am See in northwest Germany, a spokeswoman said.