Algeria Military Plane Crash Kills 257 People

At least 257 people were killed on Wednesday morning following the sudden crash of an Ilyushin IL-76 military aircraft, moments after taking off from the air base in Boufarik, northeast of Blida (Western Algiers).
The tragic crash took place at about 7:55 am after the fall and explosion of a Soviet-made Ilyushin plane that belongs to the National People’s Army that is used for transport and logistics.
The plane landed in the middle of a citrus field near Boufarik-Algiers highway, in a farm located at Si Ben Youssef Martyr’s Farm at the border between Beni Merad and Boufarik, close to the highway and only 200 meters from a community called Kritly neighborhood, which is also Known as Percione’s enclosed area.
The victims are 247 passengers, including soldiers of different ranks, families with kids, and 30 patients from the Sahrawi Arab Republic, who traveled to Algeria for treatment in Algerian hospitals and who were accompanied with some of their relatives and friends, and 10 people who belong to the plane’s crew, bringing the total number of victims to 257 martyres.
55 Ambulances, 30 Fire Trucks Were Mobilized
Security services of different units and the services of civil protection in Balida declared the maximum emergency, where 440 firemen of various ranks and 55 ambulances and 30 fire trucks were mobilized by the National Unit for Training and Intervention and the Directorate of Civil Protection of Algiers in coordination with members of the National Popular Army.
Rescue teams rushed to extinguish the flames and the firefight continued for two hours.
Echorouk sources said that the blowing of strong winds made the mission difficult for firemen and flames rose, after controlling the fire, civil protection agents began searching for the victims and assembling them in a medical intervention center in coordination with members of the National People’s Army.
“The process of collecting the remains of the dead bodies continued for hours, and security services imposed strict measures around the scene, while the remains of the plane that crashed in the center of a citrus grove were seen, while several ways were closed to facilitate the task of intervention and rescue without obstruction”.
Ambulances rushed to transport the dead bodies and remains of the victims, and investigating teams rushed to investigate the incident.