257 die in plane crash
MOST WERE ARMY PERSONNEL AND MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILIES Defence minister visits site and orders investigation into the latest air disaster.
An Algerian military plane crashed and caught fire yesterday, killing 257 people – mostly army personnel and members of their families – officials said.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw the charred wreckage of the plane in a field near the Boufarik airbase from where the plane had taken off.
Hundreds of ambulances and dozens of fire trucks with their sirens wailing rushed to the scene of the crash about 25km southwest of Algiers.
The defence ministry said in a statement that 247 passengers and 10 crew were killed without mentioning any survivors.
Deputy Defence Minister, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, visited the site and ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the crash, the defence ministry said.
The Ilyushin II-76 transport plane was bound for Tindouf in southwest Algeria.
Meanwhile, the African Union Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said the tragedy afflicts not only Algeria, but also the whole continent.
“On this sad occasion, the chairperson of the commission expresses the deepest condolences of the African Union and his own to the people and the government of Algeria, as well as to the bereaved families,” he said.
He assured them of the full solidarity and compassion of the African Union. – AFP Algeria has suffered a string of military and civilian aviation disasters, including: December, 2014: Two military planes collided mid-flight during training in Tlemcen, killing the pilots of both planes. February, 2014: 77 died when a plane carrying army personnel and relatives crashed between