WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Germanwings' Airbus A320, carrying 144 passengers and 6 crew members, was heading from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it crashed in the French Alps earlier on Tuesday.
“I called German Chancellor Merkel and I hope to speak with President [Mariano] Rajoy of Spain later today to express the condolences of the American people and to offer whatever assistance that we can as they investigate what has proven to be an awful tragedy,” Obama said.
Obama said that the United States was in “close contact” with French, Spanish and German investigators to determine whether any US citizens may have been on board.
“America stands with them [the countries] at this moment of sorrow,” Obama said.
France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety has launched a safety investigation into the crash, the bureau's spokesperson told Sputnik earlier in the day adding that it was too early to give any detailed information concerning the incident.