Wreckage From Algerian Jetliner Found in Mali, Says Office of French President
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iStock/Thinkstock(OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso) — The wreckage of an Algerian airliner that disappeared from radar Thursday was found in Mali near the border of Burkina Faso, according to a statement from the office of the French president.
“The device has been clearly identified despite its disintegrated state,” read the statement.
The Air Algerie jetliner had 110 passengers and six crew members when it took off from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, en route to Algiers, the airline said.
Air navigation services lost track of the plane, an MD-83 model, about 50 minutes after it took off.
French forces, which are stationed in Mali to help combat al Qaeda and tribal separatists, sent two planes searching for the airliner.
Earlier in the day, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the aircraft “probably crashed.”
A French military detachment was dispatched to the area to secure the site and gather first information on the wreckage.
The airline said that among the passengers were 51 French nationals along with 24 Burkina Faso nationals, six Lebanese, five Canadians, four Algerians, two Luxemburg nationals, one Swiss, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Malian. The six crew members were Spanish.
News of the plane’s disappearance came when Swiftair, the Spanish company that operated the plane, released a statement saying the plane had not arrived at its destination.
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