Algeria passenger plane wreckage found in Mali. The wreckage of a plane
that disappeared with 116 people on board on a flight from Burkina Faso
to Algiers has been found in Mali, officials say.
French troops based in the region are on their way to secure
the site, about 50km (30 miles) from the border with Burkina Faso,
French officials said.Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane early on Thursday after pilots reported severe storms.
The passengers on the Air Algerie flight included 51 French citizens.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 - Flight AH 5017 - had been chartered from Spanish airline Swiftair.
French President Francois Hollande expressed solidarity with the friends and families of those on board.
"A French military unit has been sent to (the area) to secure the site and gather evidence," his office said in a statement (in French).
The statement went on to say that the plane had "disintegrated", without giving further details.
France's Interior Minister said it appeared likely the plane had crashed due to bad weather.
'Burnt and scattered' The crash site was identified on Thursday by the Burkina Faso army near the village of Boulikessi, officials said.
Gilbert Diendere, a Burkina Faso army general, said Mali had agreed to their cross-border search which was launched after a resident in Gossi described seeing a plane go down to the south-west of the town.
"Sadly, the team saw no-one on site. It saw no survivors," he told