A Germanwings Airbus A320 has crashed in the French Alps near Digne, with 150 people on board
Flight 4U 9525 was travelling between Barcelona and Duesseldorf
Passengers believed to include 67 Germans and 45 Spanish citizens
French President Francois Hollande said he believed none of those on board had survived
Sixteen German students on a Spanish exchange trip on flight
Opera singers Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner also on board
Search-and-rescue teams reach the crash site at Meolans-Revels
Cologne-based Germanwings is a low-cost airline owned by Lufthansa
That brings us to the end of our live coverage. The recovery operation will resume Wednesday morning at first light. You can continue to get the latest developments on our main story.
BBC Weather
Latest
Tomorrow:
Sunrise: 05:33
Snowfall: 20cm (until Wednesday)
Max Temp: -2C (28F)
Min Temp: -7C (19F)
The flight came down in a remote area of the French Alps, and the recovery team face a daunting task.
"Considering the conditions there, it will take several days to bring the bodies down, if the weather allows," said Serge Degandt, a local politician to AFP. "At the time of the crash, it was blue skies, visibility was perfect. But it turned bad shortly after."
Image source, AFPOpera singers Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner, who were on the flight, performed for the last time in Wagner's Siegfried on Saturday, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona confirmed.
A statement said: "Mrs Radner, who was travelling to Duesseldorf with her husband and baby, both also dead, performed Erda."
Image source, Gran Teatre del LiceuMr Bryjak is pictured below in the same performance. The Liceu theatre has lowered its flags and will observe a two-minute silence tomorrow.
Image source, Gran Teatre del LiceuThat the flight appeared to get into trouble as it was at cruising height strikes Forbes contributor Dan Reed as unusual. He writes, external that the "cruise" phase of the flight, i.e. altitudes above 30,000ft (9,100m), is one of the safest, with crashes far more likely during takeoff. What caused the flight to crash is not yet known, but owners Lufthansa are assuming it was an accident.
More stills taken from video showing the debris spread over the mountains.
Image source, AFP
Image source, AFP
Image source, ReutersVictor Barrio, mayor of the Spanish city of Jaca in the Pyrenees, says a woman originally from the city died in the crash along with her baby boy.
He said Marina Bandres, who lived in Britain, had been attending a funeral in Jaca. He did not know if her husband was on the flight with her and their baby son, Julian, who was seven or eight months old.
Students have attended mass in Llinars del Valles, the Spanish town where a group of German teenagers on board the Germanwings flight had been visiting as part of an exchange programme.
Image source, ReutersTwo Australians - a woman and her adult son - were on board the Germanwings flight, the Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this shocking tragedy," she said, adding it would be inappropriate to give further details at the present time.
A rescue official says about 10 police officers will spend the night at the crash site to guard it. Lt Col Jean-Marc Meninchini of the regional police rescue service said search operations will resume at daybreak. He said the recovery operation is expected to last a week.
Books of condolence are ready to sign at a sports hall in the south-eastern French village of Seyne-les-Alpes, which has become the hub for all the rescue teams and accident investigators.
Image source, AFP
Tom Burridge
BBC News, Barcelona
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Catalan president of this region, Barcelona being the capital, will travel together to the crash site tomorrow. Two politicians, who are poles apart on so many issues, travelling together with be a symbol of unity.
Stephane Duclet, a journalist with French newspaper La Provence, has flown over the crash site.
"From what we were able to see, we had great difficulty in actually locating the plane because very little of it remained. Looking from above, not even the fuselage was intact. All we could make out was small parts."
Chris Fawkes
BBC Weather
An area of low pressure will bring fairly strong winds at altitude and also some fresh snowfall to the southern French Alps. The snow could hamper the recovery operation. Some lowering cloud bases and some poor visibility over the mountain tops could affect the safe operation of the recovery helicopters.
Earlier, an opera house in Duesseldorf said bass baritone Oleg Bryjak was on the plane. Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, external said Maria Radner, like Mr Bryjak, had performed in its production of Richard Wagner's Siegfried.
Here are a pictures from video taken by news agency AFP, showing the crash site and search and rescue teams:
Image source, AFP
Image source, AFP
Image source, AFPAlex Capstick
BBC News, Seyne-les-Alpes
Helicopters have stopped flying to the remote crash site. Military personnel are camping there overnight to secure the site.
The search has been called off for this evening and will resume "at first light" says Pierre-Henri Brandet, spokesman for the French interior ministry in Seyne-les-Alpes.
A Spanish opera house says a second singer, German contralto Maria Radner along with her husband and baby, were among the 150 passengers feared dead.
Sofia Bettiza
BBC News, Duesseldorf
A Lufthansa spokesperson has said: "We had to cancel seven Germanwings flights departing from Duesseldorf today because of difficulties with crew members. They told us they felt unfit to fly."