Algiers: The remains of Air Algerie flight AH 5017 en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers which crashed on Thursday have been found at Tilemsi, 70km from Gao in northern Mali.
The plane had 116 people on board of which 110 were passengers and 6 were cabin crew members. The plane had taken off from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou. Air navigation services had lost track of the plane 50 minutes after its takeoff. The plane is an MD83 Airbus which was headed to Algiers.
Burkino Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedrago said it asked to change route at 0138 GMT because of a storm in the area. "I can confirm that it has crashed," the Algerian official said, declining to be identified or give any details about what had happened to the aircraft on its way north.
Spanish private airline company Swiftair had earlier said in a notice posted on its website that the aircraft took off from Burkina Faso at 0117 local time and was supposed to land in Algiers at 0510 local time but never reached its destination.
Many French nationals are believed to be on board an Air Algerie jet. France has sent two Mirage 2000 jets to look for the plane that went missing less than an hour after takeoff from Ouagadougou.
Gao in north Mali is a region that was seized by jihadists groups for several months in 2012 and that remains very unstable despite the Islamists being driven out in a French-led offensive.
(With agency inputs)
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