No survivors found in Algeria plane crash

Rescue teams confirmed seeing the plane's completely burned wreckage and many bodies at the scene.

In the latest developments related to the Algerian Airlines flight AH5017 that lost contact on the morning of July 24 while flying over Mali's airspace, the Burkina Faso military said that the country's rescue team found the wreckage of the crashed plane in Mali that evening and found no survivors. The plane went missing about 50 minutes after taking off from the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou to the Algerian capital Algiers.

Flight path graphic of flight AH5017 (Photo: BBC)

There were 116 people on board the crashed plane, including 110 passengers and 6 Spanish crew members. The largest number of French passengers was 51, followed by 26 Burkina Faso passengers and passengers from many other countries.

Speaking at a press conference, Chief of the General Staff of the Burkina Faso Army, General Gilbert Diedjire, said that the country's rescue team sent to Mali found the crashed plane south of Gao city, Mali, 140 km north of Djibo city, Burkina Faso. The plane was completely burned and the rescue team found no survivors.

“The rescue team found the wreckage of the plane and several bodies at the scene. We cannot assess the exact situation because it is dark. However, the rescue team confirmed that they saw the wreckage of the plane, completely burnt, with debris scattered on the ground,” Diedjire said.

At a press conference earlier, Mr. Diedjire said that the crew of the crashed plane had requested a change of route due to a storm in the area. However, it could not be confirmed that bad weather was the cause of the accident.

Earlier information said that the Algerian airline plane lost contact with the ground while in the airspace of northern Mali. It was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft, leased by Algeria from the Spanish company Swiftair.

Air Algerie operates flights to 39 cities and 28 countries in Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East. The airline’s last major accident occurred in 2003, when a Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset Airport, killing 102 people, with only one survivor./.

According to VOV