Originally published on February 12, 2014<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />A military transport plane crashed in Eastern Algeria on Tuesday, February 12, killing 77 passengers and leaving one survivor, according to the country's defense ministry. <br /><br />According to reports in Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, the plane, a Hercules C-130, was reportedly at least 24 years old. It took off from the southern Saharan city of Tamanrasset and was headed to Constantine with 74 passengers and four crew members. <br /><br />Air-traffic controllers lost radio and radar contact with the plane just before noon.<br /><br />The defence ministry said the crash was likely due to bad weather, storms and snow. Initial reports in Algerian media had put the death toll at 103.<br /><br />The plane's wing clipped a mountain, the aircraft exploded and broke into three pieces. <br /><br />"The plane crashed into a mountain and exploded. Several bodies were burnt to ashes and could not be identified," one official told Reuters by telephone from the area.<br /><br />Helicopters were dispatched to find the wreckage, which was discovered on Mount Fortas near the town of Ain Kercha, 50 kilometres southeast of Constantine, the main city in eastern Algeria.<br /><br />Ambulances were sent to the site. Fifty-five bodies have been recovered so far. <br /><br />The lone survivor, a soldier, suffered head injuries and was treated at a nearby military facility before being flown to the military hospital in Algiers.<br /><br />Military planes in Algeria routinely carry not only soldiers but military families visiting army bases and, if space is available, other civilians.<br /><br />This is the worst air disaster in Algeria in a decade.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals
