President Jacob Zuma sent his condolences on Wednesday to the friends, families and colleagues of the 150 people killed in a plane crash in the French Alps.

“We also extend our sympathies to the government and the peoples of all other countries whose nationals perished in the crash,” Zuma said in a statement.

The international relations and co-operation department said it had been informed that no South Africans were on board Germanwings Flight 9525 when it crashed on Tuesday morning.

The Associated Press reported that, according to Germanwings, there was not yet a final indication of the victims’ nationalities.

French investigators cracked open the mangled black box of the German jetliner on Wednesday and sealed off the rugged crash site.

Investigators were mining the cockpit voice recorder for clues about what sent the Airbus 320 into a mid-flight dive after pilots lost radio contact over the southern French Alps, during a routine flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

Germany’s top security official said there was no evidence of foul play. SAPA