Mechanical problem blamed for plane crash

AN Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff in southern Algeria yesterday, killing 102 people on board, the airline said. One person survived.

The crash of the Boeing 737 occurred minutes after the plane left Tamanrasset bound for the capital, Algiers.

“There was a mechanical problem on takeoff,” said a spokesman for the airline, Hamid Khamdi. He said he had no other information about the cause of the crash. “Unfortunately, we know only of one survivor,” he said.

There were 97 passengers on the plane and six crew members, airline officials said. Khamdi said the passengers’ nationalities were not known.

He said 39 passengers were headed for Algiers and 58 others were due to disembark at a midway stop, Ghardaia.

Prime Minister Ali Benflis set up a crisis unit at airports in Algiers and Tamanrasset to deal with the crash, thought to be the first in the history of Algerian commercial aviation. An investigative unit was also set up at the Tamanrasset airport.

Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni and Transportation Minister Abdelmalek Sellal were headed to the scene.

Tamanrasset, in the Hoggar Mountains, is a stop for Sahara Desert travellers in a region of ancient archaeological sites and prehistoric paintings and engravings.

The site is also a meeting place for Tuaregs, nomadic people known for their blue robes. Tamanrasset is about 1,600kms (990 miles) south of Algiers.

Algeria, an oil-and gas-rich nation in North Africa, has been struggling to end an 11-year-long insurgency by Islamic militants that has claimed 120,000 lives.

There was no immediate indication that the plane was deliberately brought down, although Algeria has been the occasional target of terrorist acts.