French warplanes search Mali desert for crashed Air Algerie plane
- 10 years ago
An Air Algerie flight with 110 passengers onboard, nearly half of them French citizens, crashed on Thursday after the jet disappeared over northern Mali en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers, an Algerian official said.
There are few clear indications of what might have happened to flight AH5017, or whether there were casualties. But Burkina Faso's transport minister said the crew asked to adjust their route because of a storm in the area.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says they are using all means to locate the aircraft.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER LAURENT FABIUS SAYING:
"Our military means in the region, including medical means, are all mobilized."
Algeria's state news agency said authorities lost contact with flight an hour after it took off from Burkina Faso, but other officials gave differing accounts of the times of contact, adding to confusion about the plane's fate.
There are few clear indications of what might have happened to flight AH5017, or whether there were casualties. But Burkina Faso's transport minister said the crew asked to adjust their route because of a storm in the area.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says they are using all means to locate the aircraft.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER LAURENT FABIUS SAYING:
"Our military means in the region, including medical means, are all mobilized."
Algeria's state news agency said authorities lost contact with flight an hour after it took off from Burkina Faso, but other officials gave differing accounts of the times of contact, adding to confusion about the plane's fate.