Algeria plane crash ‘kills 200 people’

A PLANE crash in Algeria this morning has reportedly left more than 200 people dead. The military aircraft went down near the airport at Boufarik — less than 20 miles from the capital Algiers.

It had been transporting dozens of troops and equipment when it crashed just after 8am.

Footage captured by witnesses shows a huge plume of black smoke billowing from an area near the runway.

As many as 14 ambulances and ten fire engines were dispatched to the horror blaze, according to local reports.

Dozens of bodies were said to have been pulled from the smouldering wreckage by rescuers.

All roads around the airport were closed to help emergency services carry out a desperate rescue mission.

State radio confirmed more than 100 people were dead — but an Algerian military source told local news broadcaster Al-Hadath that there are “no survivors” on the plane carrying at least 200.

Eyewitnesses said the Russian-built Ilyushin carrier was already on fire when it smashed into farmland near the airport at Boufarik.

It had been heading to the city of Bechar in in south-western Algeria, according to Algerie Presse service agency.