At least 257 dead in crash of Algerian military plane, officials say

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption More than 250 dead after Algerian plane crash A plane crash in Algeria left more than 250 people dead near the nation's capital, Algiers. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

At least 257 people were killed when an Algerian military plane crashed soon after takeoff in the north of the country, officials said Wednesday.

It is the deadliest plane crash since all 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 died after it was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

The Algerian plane went down in a field near the Boufarik military base, which is 20 miles from the capital, Algiers, and about 10 miles from the Mediterranean Sea.

Algeria's defense ministry said in a statement that 247 passengers and 10 crew members were killed. It said most of the victims are soldiers and their relatives.

The bodies were taken to an army hospital in the town of Ain Naadja for identification, the ministry said.

The Soviet-designed Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft had been headed for Bechar in southwestern Algeria, the official Algerie Presse news agency reported.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. An investigation has been opened, the defense ministry said.

The Il-76 aircraft model, widely used for both commercial freight and military, has been in production since 1970s and has a good safety record.

It was the first crash of an Algerian military plane since February 2014, when a U.S.-built C-130 Hercules turboprop slammed into a mountain in Algeria, killing at least 76 people and leaving one survivor.

Wednesday’s crash was not the deadliest of an Il-76. According to Aviation Safety Network, the 2003 crash of an IL-76 of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard killed 275 people.

The heavy loss of life of soldiers was certain to deeply shake Algeria. The National Liberation Army – which grew out of the fighting force which freed Algeria from French colonial rule – is revered by Algerians.

Today, the army is credited with saving the nation from an insurgency by Islamist extremists in the 1990s and early 2000s. The battle continues with sporadic attacks around Algeria and networks dismantled by soldiers.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ordered three days of mourning starting immediately and prayers for the dead on Friday at mosques across the country.

Contributing: The Associated Press