Algeria Plane Found In Mali

Algeria passenger plane
wreckage found in Mali
25 July 2014 Last updated at 08:06
The wreckage of a plane that
disappeared with 116 people on
board on a flight from Burkina
Faso to Algiers has been found in
Mali, officials say.
French troops based in the region
are on their way to secure the site,
about 50km (30 miles) from the
border with Burkina Faso, French
officials said.
Air traffic controllers lost contact
with the plane early on Thursday
after pilots reported severe storms.
The passengers on the Air Algerie
flight included 51 French citizens.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 -
Flight AH 5017 - had been chartered
from Spanish airline Swiftair.
French President Francois Hollande
expressed solidarity with the
friends and families of those on
board.
"A French military unit has been
sent to (the area) to secure the site
and gather evidence," his office
said in a statement (in French).
The statement went on to say that
the plane had "disintegrated",
without giving further details.
France's Interior Minister said it
appeared likely the plane had
crashed due to bad weather.
'Burnt and scattered'
The crash site was identified on
Thursday by the Burkina Faso army
near the village of Boulikessi,
officials said.
Gilbert Diendere, a Burkina Faso
army general, said Mali had agreed
to their cross-border search which
was launched after a resident in
Gossi described seeing a plane go
down to the south-west of the
town.