At least 257 passengers have been reported killed, after a military plane crashed near the Boufarik airbase outside the Algerian capital, Algiers, media reports said.
The plane, an Ilyushin Il-76, was carrying scores of military troops, according to the reports.
Algerie24, a local news website, said the plane was heading to the western Algerian city of Bechar.
Images posted on an Algerian website showed thick smoke billowing from the site of the crash, as several people rushed to help.
The crash at Boufarik would be the worst in Algeria since 2003 when an Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset, killing 102 people.
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