23:28 'Not terrorism'
The White House says US officials have been in touch with French, German and Spanish officials to offer assistance. In a statement, US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan says there is no indication the crash was the result of terrorism, the BBC reported.

23:03 French police: no one survived
French police at the crash site have told Reuters news agency that no one survived and it would take days to recover the bodies of those on board due to difficult terrain.

22:40 French PM: no survivors found
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says a helicopter has managed to land near where the plane crashed in the Alps, but found no survivors. "The plane is disintegrated,"said Manuel Valls, according to AP.

Rescue helicopters have been flying towards the crash site. [Photo/Reuters]

22:25 No Chinese passengers on board
"There are no Chinese passengers, as far as we know today," a spokesman said at the Germanwings' press conference after the crash.

22:20 About 16 German schoolchildren feared on board
A town spokeswoman said there is reason to believe 16 schoolchildren and two teachers from Haltern, Germany, were on Germanwings Flight 4U9525, Reuters reported.

22:16 Thomas Winkelmann, chief executive Germanwings, speaking at a press conference said:
-Contact between the plane and French air traffic controllers broke off at 10:53 (9:53 GMT) at an altitude of approx 6,000ft. The plane then crashed.

-The last routine check and inspection of the aircraft took place on 23 March in Duesseldorf -the technicians were from Lufthansa.

-Last regular inspection was carried out in summer 2013.

-The captain has more than 10 years of experience with Lufthansa and Germanwings, and more than 6,000 hours of flying Airbus models.

-To protect family members and cabin crew the list of passengers will not be released immediately.