The Spanish Prime Minister looked shell-shocked after he heard how at least 45 of his citizens had been killed in the Alps plane crash this morning. Mariano Rajoy was being filmed by a TV crew when he received a  phone call shortly after details of the accident began to emerge. His  visit to the northern Spanish town of Vitoria-Gasteiz took on an air of grave seriousness as the PM cancelled his scheduled appointments and headed back to Madrid for a crisis cabinet meeting. Scroll down for video . Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was on a visit to a northern province this morning when news that 45 of his citizens had been killed in the Germanwings plane crash began to emerge . A film crew from the Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos filmed him receiving a serious phone call this morning . In a hastily-arranged press conference, he said: 'I profoundly regret this very sad accident. We are going to do all we can.' Meanwhile Spain's King and Queen abandoned a planned three-day visit to France after a brief meeting with French president Francois Hollande this morning. King Felipe VI and his wife Letizia had been due to begin a state visit to Paris today in a trip intended to strengthen links between the two countries. President Hollande welcomed the King and Queen to the Elysee Palace in Paris this morning, on what was due to be an occasion of celebration. During their visit, the Spanish royals were due to open an exhibition of the works of Spanish painter Diego Velazquez at the Grand Palais. They were then planning to go at the City Hall to open a garden in honour of Spanish fighters in the Second World War, before King Felipe was due to speak at the National Assembly. Instead, there was hushed mood when the meeting took place as both French and Spanish heads of state started to hear updates of what had happened in the Alps. King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Letizia met France's President Hollande shortly after the crash emerged . The royal couple had been due to start a three-day state visit to Paris, but the trip was abandoned today . The King struggled to contain his emotion as news of the tragedy began to filter through to Paris . President Hollande said: 'We must feel grief, because this is a tragedy that happened on our soil. 'I want to make sure that there have been no other consequences as the accident happened in a very difficult area to access, and I do not know yet if there were houses nearby. I intend to find out if there were other consequences of the accident. 'We will know in the next few hours. In the meantime, we must show support.' He added: 'I will discuss the incident with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish King Felipe VI, who is visiting us today. As we wait, our first feeling should be one of solidarity.' Germanwings said it was thought that 63 of the passengers on board were Germans, while reports from Spain suggest that around 45 Spaniards may have been on the flight. It is believed two babies and 16 children from the same German school are also among the dead. In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: 'We still don't know much beyond the bare information on the flight, and there should be no speculation on the cause of the crash.' The King and Queen looked shaken, appearing just minutes after it emerged 45 Spaniards had been killed . President Hollande said: 'We must feel grief, because this is a tragedy that happened on our soil' The couple said they would be returning to Spain and plan to re-arrange the visit for another occasion . The Airbus A320, with 144 passengers and six crew on board was being operated by German low-fare airline Germanwings on a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said the aircraft began descending again shortly after it reached its cruising height, having taken off from Barcelona at about 10am local time. This descent lasted eight minutes, he told reporters in Cologne. Radar and air traffic control contact broke off at 10.53am. In Britain, David Cameron's official spokesman said the Prime Minister had been informed of the crash and 'would wish to express how his thoughts are very much with the families and friends of all of those aboard'. He added that the Foreign Office was making inquiries about whether any British nationals were on board, but had no information at this stage. He said UK air accident investigators would offer any assistance requested by French or German authorities. King Felipe was due to speak at the French National Assembly and open an art exhibition during the visit . France rolled out the red carpet for Felipe, who arrived in Paris for his first state visit since taking the throne . Wreckage of the Germanwings Airbus was found in a remote region of the French Alps this afternoon .
Spanish leader was on visit to northern province when he heard of crash . Camera crew recorded him receiving a gravely serious phone call today . He cancelled visit and returned to Madrid for emergency cabinet meeting . Spanish King and Queen have abandoned their three-day trip to France . They looked visibly shaken as they met with President Hollande today .