"It`s a tragedy on our soil," he said. "I want to express all my solidarity to the families of the victims of this air accident. This is a bereavement, a tragedy."
Flight tracking systems indicated the plane was cruising at 38,000 feet at 5:28 a.m. Seven minutes later it was down to 24,000 feet -- a swift but controlled descent. At that point the Flightaware tracking system provided no further statistics.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the Airbus 320 crashed near Digne les Bains, in the Alpes de Haute Provence region -- about 65 miles north of Nice. Debris from the crash has been located at an alititude of more than 6,000 feet.
Capt. Benoit Zeisser of the Digne-le-Bains police, told the French network iTele there were some clouds but the cloud ceiling was not low. Valls said he had sent Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to the scene.
Germanwings is a subsidiary of Lufthansa. Lufthansa spokeswoman Kim Jucknat said the airlines has launched an investigation.
"My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew," Lufthansa said in a statement. "If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa."
Germanwings is a low-cost carrier known for taking passengers from Germany to areas along the Mediterranean popular with vacationers. Spain is a particularly popular destination for Germans.
Airbus tweeted: "We are aware of the media reports. All efforts are now going towards assessing the situation."
Police tweeted a warning to people not to get close to the scene of the crash.
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