Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita says searchers have spotted the wreckage of an Air Algerie plane that went missing on a flight from Burkina Faso to Algeria.
Keita says the plane’s wreckage has been spotted in northeastern Mali, between the desert regions of Aguelhoc and Kidal. He made the announcement during a meeting in the capital, Bamako.
There was no immediate word on possible survivors. Authorities said 116 people were onboard flight AH5017.
There were few clear indications of what might have happened to flight AH5017, but Burkina Faso’s transport minister said the crew asked to adjust their route at 0138 GMT because of a storm in the area. It is not yet known if weather played a role in the plane’s disappearance. The flight from Burkina Faso to Algiers should have taken four hours.
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters the aircraft “probably crashed,” as French fighter jets based in West Africa had been taking part in the search.
French President Francois Hollande canceled a planned visit to overseas territories and said all military means on the ground would be used to locate the aircraft.
Earlier Thursday, Kara Terki, a spokesman for Air Algeria, confirmed there has been no sign of the plane since around 330 GMT, about one hour before it was scheduled to land in Algiers Thursday morning.
“Since 5 o’clock this morning, we have been searching, and continue to search, to trace the signal from our plane, that was destined for Algeria,” Terki said. “But for the moment, the plane remains missing… We would like to have more definitive information, particularly for the families of those on board, but for now, we continue to search.”
Spanish airline Swiftair, which owns the MD-83 aircraft, constructed in 1996, said in a statement it was continuing to work with Air Algerie and local authorities to locate the missing plane.
Source-VOA
