Algeria military plane crash: 77 dead, one survivor

Originally published on February 12, 2014

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A military transport plane crashed in Eastern Algeria on Tuesday, February 12, killing 77 passengers and leaving one survivor, according to the country's defense ministry.

According to reports in Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, the plane, a Hercules C-130, was reportedly at least 24 years old. It took off from the southern Saharan city of Tamanrasset and was headed to Constantine with 74 passengers and four crew members.

Air-traffic controllers lost radio and radar contact with the plane just before noon.

The defence ministry said the crash was likely due to bad weather, storms and snow. Initial reports in Algerian media had put the death toll at 103.

The plane's wing clipped a mountain, the aircraft exploded and broke into three pieces.

"The plane crashed into a mountain and exploded. Several bodies were burnt to ashes and could not be identified," one official told Reuters by telephone from the area.

Helicopters were dispatched to find the wreckage, which was discovered on Mount Fortas near the town of Ain Kercha, 50 kilometres southeast of Constantine, the main city in eastern Algeria.

Ambulances were sent to the site. Fifty-five bodies have been recovered so far.

The lone survivor, a soldier, suffered head injuries and was treated at a nearby military facility before being flown to the military hospital in Algiers.

Military planes in Algeria routinely carry not only soldiers but military families visiting army bases and, if space is available, other civilians.

This is the worst air disaster in Algeria in a decade.

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