The number of people believed to have died in an Algerian military plane crash on Wednesday has risen to 257, according to state TV, APA reports citing Reuters.
The military transport plane crashed into a field shortly after take off at Boufarik airport, southwest of Algiers.
***
13:16
A military aircraft carrying 200 people has crashed near a busy highway in Northern Africa with all on board feared dead, according to Express.
The transport plane plummeted to the ground shortly after taking off at 8am local time from Boufarik Airport in Algeria.
Airlive has quoted an Algerian military source as confirming there were ‘around 200’ people on board.
The source added nobody had survived the crash.
Algerian news outlet Dia Algerie has reported emergency services are on the scene, with 130 members of the civil protection unit and more than a dozen ambulances in attendance.
The news outlet added the crash is the biggest disaster in the history of the Algerian Air Force.
Boufarik Airport is a military air base located on the northern coast of Algeria, some 30km from the capital Algiers.
The installation is primarily used by larger transport aircraft.
The crashed plane is reported to have been either an II-76 or II-78 model, aircraft which were originally developed by the Soviet Union and later Russia.
The Algerian Air Force operates over a dozen of the II-76 variants which are commonly used as transports for troops or weapons.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
