Algeria Plane Crash: Lone Survivor As 102 Killed
The military aircraft was carrying soldiers and their relatives when it slammed into a mountain in Algeria.
Video: 102 Killed In Algerian Plane Crash
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The plane crashed in Oum El Bouaghi
A sole survivor has been found after a military transport plane with at least 78 people on board crashed in Algeria's rugged eastern region.
The C-130 Hercules was carrying soldiers and their familieswhen it slammed into Mount Fertas in Oum El Bouaghi.
"The plane crashed into a mountain and exploded. Several bodies were burnt to ashes and could not be identified," a local official told Reuters.
The survivor has been taken to hospital in nearby Constantine. Earlier reports said all those on board were killed.
Defence officials said women and children were among the dead.
It was initially reported that 103 people had been on the flight and it was not clear why there was a discrepancy in the figures.
Poor weather is being blamed for the crash.
"Unfavourable weather conditions and storms accompanied by snow in the region were behind the crash," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The plane took off from the southern city of Tamanrasset and was heading to Constantine.
It is the first major plane crash in the country since 2003, when an Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after take-off from Tamanrasset, killing 102 people.
There was a sole survivor in that crash as well - a young Algerian soldier.
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