The military transport was carrying members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives. 99 passengers and four crew were on board. The researches conducted at the crash site found only 77 bodies due to very difficult conditions in the area. A rescue operation is still underway.
The C-130 Hercules plane had broken into three parts. It is supposed to have been the deadliest airplane crash in Algeria’s history. In a statement of the Algerian Defense Ministry the weather conditions were incriminated as the cause of the crash. Winds were 17 to 28 knots with a visibility of 5 miles (8 kilometers) according to the aviation safety authority.
A similar crash with only one survivor occurred in 2003 when a civilian airliner Boeing 737 crashed in Algeria at the end of the runway in Tamanrasset.
