Among those killed are 26 members of the Polisario Front.
At least 257 people have died on Wednesday after crashing an Algerian military plane near the military air base in Boufarik, in the province of Blida, 35 kilometers from Algiers, according to sources of Civil Protection cited by local media. Among the deceased would be 26 members of the Polisario Front.
The device, an Iliushin 76 used to transport troops, has crashed for unknown reasons shortly before 08:00 am in a field near the highway linking Boufarik with Blida, very close to the airport, and has burst into flames .
Emergency crews as well as Army personnel have moved immediately to the scene of the incident. The plane, which has been completely destroyed, was heading towards Bechar, in the southwest of the country, according to a military source quoted by the official agency APS.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the plane, which was to make the flight between Boufarik and Bechar has crashed on the perimeter of the base in an agricultural field and has specified that the chief of staff has ordered the " immediate appointment of a commission of inquiry to determine the causes of the accident. "
The Civil Protection services have established 257 the provisional death balance, although it is not ruled out that it may increase, according to the Algerie24 portal and the private channel Ennahar TV. Ten of the deceased have been identified as members of the crew.
The rescue tasks involve more than 300 people, civil defense bodies, ambulances, police and members of the Algerian Army, already hit by a similar tragedy in 2014.
That year, 77 people lost their lives when they crashed a Hercules C-130 mountainous region of Oum el Bouaghi, 500 kilometers east of Algiers.