Algerian Military Plane Crashes Near Boufarik Airport, 257 Killed

257 people died after an Algerian military plane crashed near an airbase outside the capital Algiers, according to officials. The plane came down near Boufarif airport shortly after taking off. The dead include the plane's 10 crew and 247 passengers, most of them members of the armed forces and their families, officials said.

Reuters reported that that plane was also carrying military personnel and members of Western Sahara's Polisario independence movement.

The aircraft was an Ilyushin II-76, and crashed 25 kilometres southwest of Algiers.

Television footage showed black smoke billowing near a motorway and a crowd of security officials and others standing in a field next to the crash site. 

Dozens reportedly killed after military plane crashes into a residential area in #Algeria pic.twitter.com/9F59j76kr9

- Press TV (@PressTV) April 11, 2018

The tail fin of a plane could be seen above olive trees, with smoke and flames rising from the wreckage.

Hundreds of ambulances and dozens of fire trucks rushed to the scene.

The aircraft is an Ilyushin II-76, which is capable of carrying around 120 passengers. (File)