More than 200 people are reported dead in a plane crash in Algeria
The Russian built IIyushin II-76 carrying at least 200 pa s sengers and equipments crashed near the Boufarik military base just 20 miles from the capital, Algiers.
According to Algiers media report, the plane was headed towards the western Algerian city of Bechar. Eyewitnesses said that the plane had caught fire before it crashed. The tragic incident happened just after 8 am on Wednesday and death counts have reached more than 100. The official Algerie Presse news agency stated that the aircraft went down soon after take off.
#DIRECT#Algérie
L'avion militaire était à destination de Béchar et s'est écrasé quelques minutes après son décollagehttps://t.co/Uxe6HUFi4X pic.twitter.com/LZpTKEDszH— Algérie24 (@Alg24net) April 11, 2018
The local reports state that more than 14 ambulances and ten fire trucks were immediately dispatched to the site of the crash. Recent update state that there were no survivors and the death count will exceed 200.
Following the tragic incident, Senior Algerian military figure dropped all planned trips and engagements to focus on the rescue. The Chief of Staff of the National People's Army, Ahmed Gaid Salah has ordered an investigation of the crash.
