Air Algerie said via
Twitter that the plane has apparently crashed in the Tilemsi area, about
70 kilometers (45 miles) from the southeastern city of Gao.
Flight 5017 lost radar
contact 50 minutes after takeoff from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, early
Thursday. It was supposed to arrive at Algiers' Houari Boumediene
Airport about four hours later.
The airline also tweeted
that among those on board were 50 people from France, 24 from Burkina
Faso, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, five Canadians, four Germans, two
from Luxembourg, one from Mali, one Cameroonian, one Belgian, one
Ukrainian, one Romanian and one Swiss.
Ouagadougou Airport said
in a post on its Facebook page that Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban
President Raul Castro, was among those on board. The Cuban Foreign
Ministry is looking into the reports but was not aware she was on that
plane, and CNN has not confirmed that she was on the flight.
An earlier Facebook post
said that the plane might be in the area of Kidal in northern Mali,
where French troops are stationed, backed up by the air force. The town
of Kidal was occupied some months ago by rebels. Mali lies between
Burkina Faso and Algeria.
The French forces have already started reconnaissance flights to search for the plane, the airport's post said.
According to the
state-run Algeria Press Service news agency, the plane, an MD-83, was
carrying 119 people in total, including seven crew members, a slightly
different number from the 116 given by the airport and French officials.
French Secretary of
Transport Frederic Cuvillier also told reporters the plane disappeared
over northern Mali, where Islamist militants are fighting the Malian
government and French forces.
He said "a large number of French passengers" were believed to be on board the plane, according to CNN's French affiliate BFMTV.
France sets up hotline
France is actively seeking more information about the location of the missing flight.
"We are entirely
mobilized in Paris as well as in Algiers and Ouagadougou where our
embassies are in constant contact with local authorities and the
airline," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that a
hotline number has been established.
The MD-83 is part of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family of twin-engine, single-aisle jets.
The plane belongs to a private Spanish company, Swiftair, but it appears to have been operated by Air Algerie.
"We have lost contact with the plane," Swiftair said.
"At this moment, emergency services and our staff are working on finding out more on this situation."
Air Algerie said via
Twitter, "Unfortunately, for the moment we have no more information than
you do. We will give you the latest news live."
Source:CNN
No comments:
Post a Comment