Military plane crashes in Algeria, 257 dead
Updated: 6:29 a.m. | Posted: 5:31 a.m.
Algeria's defense ministry says 257 people died when a military plane carrying soldiers and their families crashed soon after takeoff in a farm field in northern Algeria.
The ministry said in a statement that 247 passengers and 10 crew members were killed. It said most of the victims are soldiers and their relatives. It says the victims' bodies have been transported to the Algerian army's central hospital in the town of Ain Naadja for identification.
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The flight had just taken off from Boufarik, about 20 miles southwest of the capital Algiers, for a military base in Bechar in southwest Algeria, Civil protection agency spokesperson Farouk Achour said. It was scheduled to make a layover in Tindouf in southern Algeria, home to many refugees from the neighboring Western Sahara, a disputed territory annexed by Morocco.
The Soviet-designed Il-76 military transport plane crashed in an agricultural zone with no residents, Achour said.
The Il-76 model has been in production since 1970s and has an overall good safety record. It is widely used for both commercial freight and military transport.
The Algerian military operates several of the planes.