Algeria state TV: 257 killed in Boufarik military plane crash - UPDATED

  11 April 2018    Read: 3222
Algeria state TV: 257 killed in Boufarik military plane crash - UPDATED

At least 257 people have been killed after a military plane crashed near the Boufarik airbase outside the Algerian capital, Algiers, according to Algerian state television.

The plane, an Ilyushin Il-76, mostly carried soldier when it went down shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning.

Ennahar TV quoted an Algerian ruling party official as saying that 26 people onboard were members of the Polisario Front, a separatist movement in West Sahara - a territory also claimed by Morocco.

Algerie24, a local news website, said the plane was heading to the western Algerian city of Bechar.

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12:46

A PLANE crash in Algeria has reportedly left more than 200 people dead, the Sun reported.

The military aircraft went down near an airport at Boufarik — less than 20 miles from the capital Algiers.

It had been transporting dozens of troops and equipment when it crashed just after 8am local time.

Footage captured by witnesses shows a huge plume of black smoke billowing from an area near the runway.

As many as 14 ambulances and ten fire engines were dispatched to the horror blaze and dozens of bodies were pulled from the wreckage, according to local reports.

All roads around the airport were closed to help emergency services carry out a desperate rescue mission.

But an Algerian military source told local news broadcaster Al-Hadath that there are no survivors.

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12:46

A military plane has crashed shortly after taking off from the Boufarik base in Algeria, Al Jazeera with reference to the local media reports.

The plane, a Ilyushin Il-78, was carrying dozens of military troops, according to the reports.

An image posted on an Algerian website showed thick smoke billowing from the site of the crash.


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