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More than 275 people are feared dead after an Algerian plane crashed at 8:00 a.m. near Boufarik airbase 20 miles outside Algiers, according to Algerian state radio.
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The Ilyushin Il-76 military plane, which was transporting troops and equipment, was heading to the western Algerian city of Bechar, an Algerie24 report said.
The Algerian army confirmed the crash and announced that an investigation has been ordered, a defence ministry statement said. Fourteen ambulances and 10 fire engines were dispatched to the scene to remove bodies from the aircraft and transfer injured people to a nearby hospital.
Local media reports are projecting that the death toll could rise to as many as 200 deaths, the actual death toll is not yet known.
The crash is Algeria's worse since 2003, Al Jazeera said. More than 100 people died after an Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset.
Also, in 2014, over 70 off-duty military personnel and their family members were killed when a C-130 plane crashed into the Djebel Fertas mountain.
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