Military jet horror kills 257 in Algeria

AN ALGERIAN military plane carrying soldiers, their families and refugees crashed soon after takeoff Wednesday in a field, killing 257 people in what appeared to be the North African nation’s worst-ever aviation disaster.

Algeria’s Defense Ministry said those killed included 247 passengers and 10 crew. An Algerianbacked group seeking independence for Western Sahara said 30 of its people, including women and children, were among the dead.

The cause of the crash was unclear, and an investigation has been opened.

One witness reported seeing people jump out of the aircraft before it crashed at 7:50 a.m.

Authorities did not mention any survivors, but Algerian TV said five people were critically injured. It was unclear whether they were in the plane when it crashed.

The flight had just taken off from the Boufarik military base, 20 miles southwest of the capital Algiers, for a southwestern military base, according to the civil-protection agency.