At least 105 soldiers were killed in a military plane crash near an airfield outside the Algerian capital on Wednesday, when their Ilyushin I76 troop carrier crashed in the military airbase of Boufarik in Blida province, Xinhua reported.
The Algerian Defence Ministry said the Algerian Air Force plane was departing for the western province of Oran. Footage captured by witnesses showed a huge plume of black smoke billowing from near the runway. Algerian emergency services revised an earlier estimated death toll of up to 200 given by APS state news.
The Defence Ministry said the head of the Army ordered an investigation into the crash. TV news reports said 14 ambulances were at the scene and the injured were rushed to hospitals.
Algeria was in news recently when its residents saw the sky filled with red. some have suggested that it was the approaching Nibiru but scientists explained it as another case of light refraction in the sky.
