Investigation launched into Algerian mountain air crash which leaves scores dead
An investigation has been launched into the crash of a military transport plane in Algeria which killed 77 people with one survivor.
The incident has been described as the country’s worst air disaster in a decade.
Most of those on board were members of Algeria’s armed forces and their relatives.
The aircraft is thought to have smashed into a mountain before bursting into flames.
The plane had left the Sahara Desert garrison city of Tamanrasset and was en route for Constantine in the north. It never made it, coming down at Oum al-Bouaghi.
Although bad weather is thought to have been the cause of the crash, the incident comes at a politically tense time.
Disputes between Algeria’s elite are emerging ahead of presidential elections in April and rumours of plots and intrigue circulate daily.
