Algerian plane crash kills 257 people

An Algerian military plane crashed shortly after takeoff in northern Algeria on Wednesday, killing everyone on board, including soldiers and their families. Algeria’s Defense Ministry said 247 passengers and 10 crew members boarded the plane. Authorities transported the bodies of the victims to the Algerian army’s central hospital in Ain Naadja for identification. Farouk Achour, chief spokesman of the civil protection services, said the flight had just departed Boufarik Air Base, about 20 miles southwest of the capital city of Algiers. It was en route to a military base in Bechar in southwest Algeria when it crashed in an agricultural zone. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. The Soviet-designed Il-76 aircraft is mostly used for military transport and commercial shipment.