UPDATED: Death Toll In Algerian Military Plane Crash Hits 257
The number of people believed to have died after an Algerian military plane crashed on Wednesday, is now 257, state TV reports.
The military transport plane crashed into a field shortly after take-off at Boufarik airport, southwest of Algiers.
Advertisement
No official toll has been released.
According to AFP, thick black smoke rose from the wreckage of the plane which crashed in a field near the base.
Hundreds of ambulances and dozens of fire trucks with their sirens wailing rushed to the scene. The aircraft is an Ilyushin II-76.
The head of the army has ordered an investigation into the crash, according to a statement from the defence ministry.
Advertisement
In February 2014, 77 people died when a military plane carrying army personnel and family members crashed between Tamanrasset in southern Algeria and the eastern city of Constantine.
The C-130 Hercules transport aircraft came down in the mountainous Oum El Bouaghi region.
In July 2014 an Air Algerie passenger plane flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers crashed in northern Mali, killing all 116 people on board including 54 French nationals.
